CoA Presented with Judge Shaffer Grant for Shelf Stable Meals

(L to R) CoA Executive Director, Lori Stout, Judge Shaffer Advised Fund member, Tom Winarski, and CoA Program Director, Anna McNeill.

The Council on Aging, Gladwin County (CoA) would like to thank the Judge Shaffer Advised Fund for offering the grant opportunity and selecting their meal program’s shelf stable meals for a $12,000 grant.

This grant will go to the purchasing of bulk shelf stable meals for the CoA’s Home Delivered Meal Program (Meals on Wheels). Per the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Aging, the CoA’s home delivered meal clients are required to have shelf stable meals on hand at all times in case the meal program had to close for any reason. This is a huge cost to the CoA’s meal program.

In the past, they were able to purchase pre-made shelf stable meals, but those products are no longer available.

Without the pre-made meals, the CoA has to take on the extra cost to purchase items in bulk and assemble these meals to ensure that their clients have the emergency meals they need.

With this grant, the CoA will be able to purchase shelf stable items in bulk and assemble the meal packs as needed without having to dip into millage dollars for this new added expense.

On Monday, November 11, 2024, Tom Winarski, from the Judge Shaffer Advised Fund, presented the CoA’s Executive Director, Lori Stout, and Program Director, Anna McNeill with the grant check.