Johnson County non-profit receives $20,000 grant

IOWA CITY - Elder Services Inc., a non-profit organization that provides programs, services and resources to senior citizens, has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to purchase a new Meals on Wheels delivery vehicle.

"Thanks to the Walmart-Foundation and Meals on Wheels Association of America grant, we now have a brighter future in our efforts to keep feeding seniors in our community," Elder Services, Inc. Executive Director Susan Wehr said in a press release.

Elder Services Inc. Director of Nutritional Programs Chad Shaeffer says that the timing to receive the grant could not have worked out any better.

The non-profit's ten-year-old pickup truck was starting to fall apart after a 2010 accident in Tiffin, he said, adding that the truck was also starting to develop a history of  leaving drivers stranded in rural areas.

"We were really concerned that the old truck wasn't going to be able to get the job done anymore," he said.

Shaeffer says that it is vital that the organization's truck be reliable because it carries over 2,200 meals to senior citizens in Johnson, Washington, Iowa and Cedar counties each month.

In addition, the organization also would not have been able to travel to the HACAP food reservoir in Cedar Rapids, which helps to provide the non-profit with food, if the vehicle could no longer run, he said.

"If the truck had died and there was no bringing it back without spending a lot of money, we might not have had the ability to continue servicing the seniors that live in rural areas," Shaeffer said. "Thankfully now we can make our trips without worry."