2011 Walmart Foundation-MOWAA Building the Future Vision Grant Winners

The Walmart Foundation-MOWAA Building the Future Grants Program is designed to encourage innovation and help struggling local MOWAA Member programs provide meals to seniors in need today, as well as assist them in modernizing their programs in the future. These modernization efforts could include fostering collaborative services, streamlining operations and redesigning operational systems in order to build capacity necessary to attract and meet the needs of seniors. Two types of grants will be awarded to select Meals On Wheels programs under the Building the Future Grants umbrella: Building the Future Impact Grants and Building the Future Vision Grants. The Vision Grants will provide grants between $50,000 and $100,000 to select large MOWAA Member programs to assist them in reducing senior hunger now and in preparing for the future by revolutionizing their current operations and service delivery models. Grant recipients of this particular grant program will implement plans for large-scale, innovative and comprehensive systems change.

Top Vision Grantees

St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, Los Angeles, CA

St. Vincent Meals on Wheels received $100,000 to develop an extensive multimedia campaign to engage a new and younger following in the Los Angeles, CA, area.  Currently, the program delivers nearly 5,000 meals a day and runs entirely on private donations.  In order to maintain its services, continue operating without a waiting list and prepare for an increasing senior population, the program seeks to further develop its philanthropic food truck, Cart For A Cause – run entirely by local celebrity chefs and volunteers – and to implement new initiatives to secure the next generation of loyal Meals On Wheels supporters in Los Angeles.

Meals On Wheels of Central Maryland, Inc., Baltimore, MD

Meals On Wheels of Central Maryland, Inc. was granted $100,000 to dramatically increase its meal production, purchase new cost-saving equipment and provide its current and future clients with a considerably improved Meals On Wheels experience.   With several large-scale developments and equipment additions, Meals On Wheels of Central Maryland, Inc. looks forward to expanding its capacity, increasing its kitchen’s efficiency and creating a more flexible menu for its clients.  These advancements will help double the program’s meal production from 25 meals per minute to 50 meals per minute, serving more Maryland residents than ever before and moving several steps closer to ending senior hunger in Maryland.

Meals On Wheels & More, Austin, TX

Meals On Wheels & More received nearly $100,000 to purchase new technology and software services to better equip, sustain and organize its 14 meal distribution sites and several hundred volunteers throughout the Austin, TX, area.  With an increasing client base, reduced funding and an expanding waiting list, Meals On Wheels & More seeks to implement new volunteer tracking techniques to save time and resources and to more efficiently serve its 2,300 daily meal recipients.

Congratulations to the following Vision Grant winners: