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Meals on Wheels seeks $42,000 from Strafford County to sustain hot meal deliveries and wellness checks
Summary
Meals on Wheels asked the county for $42,000 to help distribute hot meals and provide wellness checks to homebound residents; director Katie Cordova Brooks said the program served about 144,000 meals to roughly 1,400 participants last year and emphasized social contact and safety checks.
Katie Cordova Brooks, executive director of Strafford Nutrition Meals on Wheels, told the subcommittee her group requested $42,000 to support meal distribution, safety and wellness checks for homebound residents.
"Last year in Strafford County we provided around 144,000 meals to roughly 1,400 participants throughout the year," Katie Cordova Brooks said, describing daily hot meal deliveries and the program's role in reducing isolation for clients who otherwise might skip meals.
Brooks said about one-third of clients report skipping meals on days they do not receive deliveries and that drivers provide important daily safety checks: "A lot of our clients ... only ever see the driver throughout the week." She described investments planned for client-tracking and volunteer-tracking software, and for cybersecurity and operational efficiency.
Several delegation members pressed on the organization's reserves after Brooks reported a designated board reserve and an undesignated fund balance. Brooks said the board maintains a sizeable reserve to guard against lapses in federal funding and that some funds are designated for multi-year systems investments.
The subcommittee did not vote on the request during this session; members expressed strong support for the service and asked staff to follow up if additional context on reserve use or billing timing was needed.
