A Meal from Friends — Metroport Meals on Wheels
When Kelly Bradley saw firsthand the number of elderly people who were in need when she moved to Roanoke in 1980, she took action and founded Metroport Meals on Wheels. She proposed a Meals on Wheels for her neighborhood, and MMOW began. The first meals fed five people and were cooked in the volunteer’s own kitchens and delivered by the cooks, too. MMOW now delivers hot meals in 25 different communities in three counties — Tarrant, Denton, and Wise, making a difference in the lives of those who live there.
MMOW delivered their first dinner April 1, 1980, and this nonprofit has been growing tremendously since. It will celebrate 45 years of service this year. It’s neighbors helping neighbors, with over 600 volunteers giving their time.
The first recipient of a hot meal was Ms. Sadie England, who inspired the name of MMOW’s consignment store. Along with delivering hot meals, and providing for
seniors and pets, MMOW also has a consignment shop called Sadie’s Upscale Consignment & Resale.
Sadie’s sells furniture, clothing, household items, décor, and artwork, among other goods. The store is open Monday-Saturday 10am-3pm. Its location is adjacent to MMOW’s office. All of the proceeds from the purchases at Sadie’s go towards MMOW’s home-delivered meals program. Sadie’s garners about 10% of MMOW’s funding.
With no federal or state funding, MMOW relies on community support rather than government programs, and individual donors provide about 40% of MMOW’s funding every year. MMOW also has about nine food partners, with help coming from restaurants, catering services, grocery stores, hospitals, and others.
To date, MMOW has served over 2.2 million meals. In addition to monthly deliveries of pantry staples, MMOW collaborates with another nonprofit, Don’t Forget to Feed Me, to provide homebound seniors with over 1,000 pounds of pet food annually.
“Our welcome mat is always open,” said Mary King, executive director of MMOW. “I love our mission. I love our community. I love our team.”
A fundraising event called Party in the Pasture will be March 29. The party will include dinner, music, and a whole lot of fun. Last year the nonprofit was able to raise a net profit just under $200,000. The events are a huge deal for the nonprofit because it brings about community awareness.
If people do not realize hunger is an issue within their own neighborhood, the help will not be there for those in need. Hunger is still a prevalent issue in many places not just globally but locally as well.
It’s really the individual stories behind this nonprofit that make its presence within the community so powerful. Mary King recalls a story of a gentlemen who had lost his wife. The widower was alone and always appreciated the volunteer’s company when delivering meals. The volunteers befriended him, and it became the highlight of his days to see them.
However, his neighbor across the road was not so keen on having company. She kept to herself, and although she also received meals, her reaction wasn’t the same as the gentleman’s. One day, she was very lonely, and she asked the volunteer in for coffee. The volunteer stayed quite a while — so long that the widower across the street called the woman’s house asking for the volunteer to hurry up in a jocular way. She was “hogging” his volunteer. From then on, she loved the company of the volunteers.
It’s a sweet story about how spending time and care with someone can create a phenomenal influence on their lives. The gentleman was surprised to find that his neighbor was lonely and needed some time spent with friends, too. This nonprofit is more of a family than an organization.
This story shows “the heart of what we do and why it makes a difference,” Mary said. With MMOW, the “participant is the center of the universe,” and this nonprofit creates friendships which battle the loneliness and isolation some people may feel. By providing hot meals, volunteers are “being a positive force” in someone’s life.
