Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County envisions a community where every homebound adult does not go to bed hungry while living independently in their own homes for as long as possible. 

Although the people we serve pay for our program--two home-delivered meals five days a week, a safety check and a social visit provided by caring volunteers--we offer a sliding scale that takes into account income and expenses. We subsidize the cost of our program for 96% of our clients and depend upon the support of our community for the $400,000 we need each year through events, grants, and individual donations. 

In early June, we held our 18^th Annual Golf Tournament, participated as one of the 23 nonprofit agency beneficiaries of the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community, and benefited from the June 5^th Iron Pigs jersey auction. All together, we were able to raise more than $28,500 to provide at least 5,182 meals through these events!

Thank you to all of our sponsors, event participants, and the individuals who donated to us, as well as Highmark and the Iron Pigs. The Lehigh Valley is truly a caring community in which we can all be proud to live.

We welcomed some of our community leaders at our 15^th annual “Big Wheels Day” on March 19^th: Representative Julie Harhart; Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham; Alta Mercado, Senator Pat Browne’s office; Gloria MacCormick, Representative Karen Beyer’s office; Wayne Hamm representing LC Commissioner Gloria Hamm; Roger MacLean, Allentown Chief of Police; James Brown, Salisbury Township; Ann Bieber, VP, LCC; Rev. Melinda McKonly, Asbury United Methodist Church; Jo-Ellen Batarick and Laura Haffner, Wachovia Bank; Ed and Debbie Ruyak, American Bank, and Jeff Carney and Gail Nothstein, Walmart Supercenter.

On March 24, more than 700 mayors across the country participated in the 6^th Annual “Mayors for Meals” Day. We appreciate the participation of our local mayors, Pawlowski, Allentown; Hoffman, Macungie; Niedermeyer, Slatington and Hozza, Whitehall.

Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County has been awarded a $15,000 impact grant through a Walmart Foundation grant to the Meals on Wheels Association of America. 

This grant will be used towards new workstations designed to increase workplace efficiency and effectiveness without taking funds away from providing meals. “This generous grant from the Walmart Foundation will help to ensure that we are able to continue providing a high-quality service to the more than 400 Lehigh County homebound residents who need home-delivered meals every weekday.” said Pam Bechtel, Executive Director of Meals On Wheels of Lehigh County.

The Walmart Foundation’s financial support is desperately needed as many Meals On Wheels programs across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn. This “Walmart Foundation Impact Grant” is intended to help us to continue to reach out to the growing number of our homebound neighbors throughout Lehigh County in need of home-delivered meals. The Walmart Foundation is providing more than $2 million nationwide to make sure Meals On Wheels programs have the equipment they need to maintain their operations into the future.

Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County extends sincere gratitude to the Meals On Wheels Association of America and Walmart Foundation for their outstanding concern and support of Meals On Wheels organizations throughout the country and our efforts to end Senior Hunger by 2020.

On January 29^th  Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County Received its Largest Major Gift from an Individual Donor and Elects New Officers and Board Members

At its Annual Board Meeting, Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County accepted the largest major gift it has ever received from an individual donor. Mae Hostetter and her husband Dale presented the Agency with an $80,000 donation to be paid over ten years.

Mae Hostetter of Fogelsville worked for Meals on Wheels for eight and a half years. She wanted to donate back to the Agency all the money she earned while working. Mae said: “I am returning the money I earned to be recycled in to an excellent program that helps provide homebound clients with nutritious meals and outside contact each day.” She further stated that “I hope that this gift will encourage others to give to this wonderful program.”

Pamela S. Bechtel, Executive Director accepted the gift on behalf of the senior citizens and individuals with disabilities that the Agency serves. She stated: “This gift is momentous in the life and history of Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County. Mae has given so much of herself as both a staffer and volunteer, and now she is giving again through this financial gift. This donation will allow us to feed three low-income clients for ten years—14,545 meals in total!”

Prior to accepting this gift, the Board held a business meeting and elected new members and officers.

New officers for the 2010 term are: Wally Myers, owner of Celebrity Cleaning, Inc., President; John Haney, Chief Operating Officer at St. Luke’s Physician Group, First Vice-President; James Faylor, CPA, Lang, Faylor & Chomo, Treasurer; and Carol Closson, Community Volunteer, Secretary