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Chicken Soup Brigade Receives Grant from Walmart Foundation Grant and Meals On Wheels Association of America to Help Feed Hungry Seniors
February 22, 2010, Seattle, WA – Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s Chicken Soup Brigade has been awarded $15,000 through a Walmart Foundation grant to the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). The money will help repair Chicken Soup Brigade’s refrigeration units, which are critical to continue serving seniors in our neighborhoods.
This financial support is desperately needed as many Meals On Wheels programs across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn. The “Walmart Foundation Impact Grant” is intended to help Chicken Soup Brigade continue to meet the long term equipment needs of providing meals to our seniors in King County.
Last year, many Meals On Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services, but the Walmart Foundation stepped in to help restore those meals. This year, the Walmart Foundation is spending more than $2 million nationwide to make sure Meals On Wheels programs have the equipment they need to maintain their operations into the future.
“Seniors have been hit especially hard in this economy and we feel a responsibility to help,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “We’re proud to support Meals on Wheels programs across the working on the front lines to end senior hunger.”
“The Walmart Foundation has once again stepped up to the plate as a powerful partner in the fight to end senior hunger,” said Enid Borden, president and CEO of MOWAA. “They are our largest corporate partner to date and their support will make a tremendous impact in helping our programs sustain meal services well into the future. We can’t thank the Walmart Foundation enough for joining us in our national movement to end senior hunger in America by 2020.”
Late last year MOWAA released a groundbreaking study revealing six million seniors in America face the risk of hunger. The report, entitled, “Senior Hunger in the United States: Differences across States and Rural and Urban Areas” was sponsored by MOWAA and shows that the number of seniors facing the hunger risk jumped an astonishing 20 percent in just one year. The Walmart Impact Grant Program is intended to help combat the problem of senior hunger.
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About Lifelong AIDS Alliance
Our mission statement is clear: Lifelong AIDS Alliance is committed to preventing the spread of HIV, and to providing practical support services and advocating for those whose lives are affected by HIV and AIDS. Since 1983, we have worked to fulfill our mission by providing innovative programs in Medical Nutrition Therapy, health insurance, housing, medical referrals, and other types of assistance to more than 4,000 people each year in the Puget Sound region of Washington State whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions. About 21,000 more benefit from Lifelong’s educational outreach to create HIV/AIDS awareness and prevent new infections. Lifelong AIDS Alliance is the largest AIDS Service Organization in the Pacific Northwest and the fifth-largest nationwide. Nearly 80% of our clients live on less than $20,000/year, 42% of our clients are from communities of color, 25% of clients receiving nutrition assistance from Chicken Soup Brigade, Lifelong’s nutrition-based hunger relief program, live with illnesses other than HIV/AIDS, and nearly all need specialized assistance that only Lifelong can provide. Helping vulnerable people access healthy food is essential to our mission and Chicken Soup Brigade plays an important part in that effort. For more information, visit www.LLAA.org.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. Through its philanthropic programs and partnerships, the Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on creating opportunities in education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From February 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009, Walmart – and its domestic and international foundations – gave more than $423 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.