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DeKalb County Voluntary Action Center receives $17K grant for Meals on Wheels program

By Camden Lazenby
Bonita Gordon, a kitchen assistant at the Voluntary Action Center, prepares meals for delivery Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at the facility in Sycamore. VAC delivers meals to the homebound and elderly along with providing transportation options.

Bonita Gordon, a kitchen assistant at the Voluntary Action Center, prepares meals for delivery in this Nov. 17, 2022, Shaw Local file photo at the facility in Sycamore. VAC delivers meals to the homebound and elderly along with providing transportation options. The organization was recently awarded a $17,000 grant from the DeKalb County Community Foundation to aid its Meals on Wheels program and help replace aged kitchen equipment. (Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com/Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.co)

DeKALB – The DeKalb County Voluntary Action Center recently received more than $17,000 for new kitchen equipment for its Meals on Wheels and Congregate meal programs that provide food to area residents.

The grant was provided through the DeKalb County Community Foundation, according to a news release.

“This support means more warm meals and smiles for someone living alone and socialization for individuals in need,” VAC’s child development officer Ellen Rogers said in a news release.

The grant will allow the action center to replace 25-year-old double stack ovens that no longer work properly. The funds will also help replace a commercial range the center said is “unreliable because of sporadic operational failures,” the release states.

Rogers said her team is thankful for the financial support.

VAC’s CEO Nate Kloster said for nutrition programs such as Meals on Wheels and Congregate have a particularly hard time garnering capital improvement funding.

“Essentially all our funding is directed towards operations and purchase of food,” Kloster said. “Our kitchen staff are delighted to now have reliable and dependable equipment which improves staff morale, and their productivity.”

Rogers said the support from the DeKalb County Community Foundation means the Voluntary Action Center is better apt to support individuals in need.

“This support means more warm meals and smiles for someone living alone and socialization for individuals in need,” Rogers said.

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