Ocean County Meals On Wheels Needs Votes To Win $25K Grant

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Meals on Wheels of Ocean County helps hundreds of Ocean County homebound seniors each day, making sure they have hot food and that they are not completely isolated from the world.

Now, the organization is seeking the public's help to win a $25,000 grant that will help it feed more people. Meals on Wheels of Ocean County is one of 200 finalists in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant program. The 100 organizations that receive the most votes between now and May 6 at 11:59 p.m. will each receive $25,000, according to State Farm.

Meals on Wheels of Ocean County submitted its Pick Up The Tab, or PUTT, program. You can vote here, with up to 10 votes per person per day. Winners will be announced June 7.

"This money will go a long way toward helping our seniors," officials with Meals on Wheels of Ocean County said.

"With nearly 182,000 Ocean County adults over the age of 60 and increasing every year, the need for services is overwhelming," Meals on Wheels officials wrote in the program entry. "Meals on Wheels of Ocean County delivers hot, nutritious meals to frail and homebound seniors who cannot prepare their meals. We are not an entitlement program, and the Pick Up The Tab Program is the ONLY meal delivery service in Ocean County that receiving your meal is not reliant on a payment."

Nearly 60 percent of Meals on Wheels participants in Ocean County "cannot afford the $2 donation we ask per meal," officials said.

The COVID-19 pandemic added to the stress and isolation that many felt, and the meal deliveries were crucial to helping the recipients feel less isolated, officials said.

"One in 4 seniors during the pandemic felt depressed or anxious and our services was the one light in their day as our drivers delivered their meals, checked on their well-being and offered a warm smile and a word of encouragement," officials said.

Right now, the program delivers more than 800 meals each day and has a waiting list of more than 100 residents age 60 or over who are in need and cannot be added to the program "due to costs of gas, food, and production materials," officials said. It is restarting its Community Cafes throughout the county, which provide onsite meals, helping to reach more seniors in need.

Meals on Wheels officials said the program needs to purchase new vehicles equipped with ovens and refrigeration to deliver meals; those vehicles cost more than $50,000.

The $25,000 grant "would help Meals on Wheels of Ocean County to gain footing to alleviate the waitlist," officials said.

"The PUTT Program is a critical lifeline toward health and independence and is the only home delivered meal program that serves those who are frail, homebound and that financially cannot pay," the organization said. "It ensures that our seniors receive the daily nutrition they need, a critical safety and wellness check along with nutrition education so that they have tools that they need to allow them to continue living independently."

"Seniors deserve to lead happy healthy lives and stay in the place where they’re most comfortable," officials said.

State Farm Neighborhood Assist received more than 4,000 entries for the program.

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