The Bradford Era: BRMC Meals on Wheels awarded grant

The Meals on Wheels program, which is coordinated at Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC), was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the FirstEnergy Foundation as a part of the Investing with Purpose initiative.

The grant will help support the Meals on Wheels program which serves approximately 140 participants throughout McKean County.

Bradford Hospital Foundation Executive Director Stacy Shonts Williams, oversees the program for the hospital, said “The meals on wheels program is a crucial service for people within our area. The grant from the First Energy Foundation will help our program continue to grow and provide this essential service to our community. This year alone we’ve served and delivered over 18,000 meals through July with over 13,000 of those meals being free.”

She continued, “We’re so thankful for organizations like FirstEnergy because without them and our local supporters, we would be unable to continue to serve residents in need.”

The grant, Investing with Purpose, was developed in the summer of 2020, in response to the challenges nonprofit organizations were facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the social injustices plaguing communities. Since then, FirstEnergy Foundation has awarded nearly $7 million to nonprofit organizations responding to these challenges across their service territory.

BRMC assumed operations of the Meals on Wheels program in 2017 and it continues to be a vital program to combat hunger in McKean County. The mission is to enhance the lives of older adults, persons with disabilities and others who are homebound by providing nutritious meals, personal contact, and related services to qualifying participants throughout McKean County. Operation of the Meals on Wheels program is coordinated five days per week, with weekend meals provided upon request. Meals are delivered directly to participants’ homes by volunteers.

Participants can be referred to the program through a healthcare provider, family member or self-referral. For more information about the program or to become a volunteer, call (814) 362-8288.