Meals on Wheels partners with SRCCF to raise $250K for larger site

The Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois is joining forces with the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation in its drive to secure a larger building for its Meals on Wheels services in La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties.

VAC has outgrown its existing site, 1840 St. Vincent Ave., La Salle. It launched a drive to finance the purchase of a larger building for $250,000.

As fiscal sponsor for the Meals on Wheels Sustainability Initiative, SRCCF will accept VAC donations, receipt donors, provide quarterly reports and, when asked, provide fundraising counsel to VAC administrators.

“Many seniors depend on us for their daily nutrition,” VAC CEO Nate Kloster said in a news release. “And the social contact with our drivers is almost as important as the food provided. Our mission is to help seniors stay in their homes for as long as it is safe.”

VAC delivers more than 300 meals to the homes of seniors and disabled people daily across the region. In 2023, more than 135,000 meals were provided to 945 individuals.

Congregate luncheon sites in Ottawa, Streator, La Salle and Sandwich provide a gathering place for social activities. More than 15,000 congregate meals were served in 2023, and VAC also supplied 3,200 meals a month to children at eight area day care centers.

“Meals on Wheels allows seniors to live independently longer,” SRCCF President Fran Brolley said in the release. “Few people realize the profound impact it has on our region and the welfare of our seniors.”

To donate, visit srccf.org/fund/meals-on-wheels-sustainability-initiative. For campaign information, email Sarah Kinkin at skinkin@vacdk.org. For SRCCF information, contact Brolley at 815-252-2906 or fran@srccf.org.

The public is invited to join in La Salle VAC’s 20th anniversary celebration from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Auditorium Ballroom in La Salle, an Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce After Hours event.