History:

In December 2008, the Walmart Foundation donated $750,000 to MOWAA to directly help struggling MOWAA Member programs facing financial difficulties due to increased gasoline and food prices, in conjunction with a drop in donations and a growing demand for services, as a result of the economic downturn. With this donation, MOWAA created the "MOWAA/Walmart Foundation Cure Grant Program" and awarded special grants of up to $10,000 each to 80 MOWAA Member programs in 40 states to assist them in providing meals to homebound seniors.

The Walmart Foundation continued to support MOWAA’s mission in 2009 by donating an additional $2.2 million dollars to MOWAA for the Walmart Foundation Impact Grant Program. The Walmart Foundation Impact Grant Program enabled MOWAA to provide grant awards of up to $15,000 to 147 MOWAA Member programs. The goal of the Walmart Impact Grant Program was to help local MOWAA Member programs expand their services to serve more meals. Walmart has also supported MOWAA through local store, state and volunteerism giving programs. Through these efforts, Walmart gave MOWAA’s local Meals On Wheels programs over $165,000 from February 2010 to February 2011. Recently, MOWAA received a large donation of $5 million dollars from the Foundation in the fall of 2010 for the “We are Meals On Wheels” Project. The “We are Meals On Wheels” Project consists of four major components: (1) MOWAA - Walmart Foundation Building the Future Grants Program, (2) “We are Meals On Wheels” National Mutli-Media Public Awareness Campaign, (3) Walmart Foundation Institute for Senior Nutrition Education, and (4) MOWAA State-Affiliate Training Wheels Program.

Learn more about the “We are Meals On Wheels” Project.

Impact:

As a result of the MOWAA/Walmart Foundation Cure Grant, MOWAA Member programs served 100,000 additional meals to homebound seniors across the country. At many programs, Cure Grants have allowed hundreds of elderly applicants to be removed from waiting lists, increased the number of meal delivery days per week, and fixed delivery vehicles in desperate need of repair.

Thanks to Walmart and the Walmart Foundation Impact Grant program, 147 MOWAA Member programs were able to purchase equipment and vehicles, which improved the efficiency and capacity of these programs. In the next year, between 1.5 and 2 million meals will be served to our seniors because of this generous grant opportunity.

See how the Walmart Impact Grant Program made a difference by viewing the Walmart Impact Map

The Walmart Foundation donated an additional $20,000 to fund twenty-five $800 scholarships in order for more MOWAA Members to attend the 2010 MOWAA Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA. These scholarships enabled MOWAA Members to improve their knowledge to serve their communities better without having to divert funds from their local budgets.

Find out more about Walmart’s commitment to fighting hunger in America by visiting walmart.com/fightinghunger.

Walmart Foundation President, Margaret McKenna receives the "MOWAA Corporate Friend of the Year" award at the 2010 MOWAA Annual Conference.

Walmart and MOWAA Making an Impact

“Seniors have been hit especially hard in this economy and we feel a responsibility to help.  We’re proud to support Meals On Wheels programs across the U.S. who work on the front lines of ending senior hunger.”

Margaret McKenna, President
The Walmart Foundation

“Funding from the MOWAA/Walmart Foundation Cure Grant of $7,000 enabled Open Hand to provide 1,079 home-delivered meals and nutrition education to seniors in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Of the seniors receiving meals from Open Hand, 70% have diabetes and need our healthy meals and nutrition education to help manage their health and prevent disabling conditions. We are most grateful for this funding, which helped Open Hand continue these services during these difficult times.”

Matt Pieper, Senior Director of Resource Development
Project Open Hand
Atlanta, GA