MCH Meals on Wheels Century Ride...

MCH’s Lee Karker to bike 100 miles to raise funds, awareness of Meals on Wheels

Mon, 09/14/2015 - 3:15pm

Five days a week, a team of 75 volunteers make deliveries through blizzards and heat spells to deliver 125 home-cooked, well-balanced meals to residents in every corner of Knox County. And while the Methodist Conference Home program has been around for a long time, it routinely needs more funding and more volunteers. And to bring those needs to the forefront, MCH Inc. Executive Director Lee Karker plans to pedal 100 miles through many of the communities served by the Meals on Wheels program.

Karker will head out on his bike on Saturday, Sept. 26 on a route that will take him through Tenants Harbor, Port Clyde, South Thomaston, Owls Head, Rockland, Rockport, Camden, Lincolnville and Hope. His goal is to raise $10,000 and community awareness of the MCH Meals on Wheels program.

MCH Inc.'s mission is to empower individuals, primarily older adults and people with disabilities, to maintain independent, active lives by providing access to affordable transportation, housing, meals and other supportive services.

In 2014, the MCH Meals of Wheels program served a total of 32,486 hot meals to 209 homebound older folks and people with disabilities who are unable to get out to do grocery shopping or are unable to prepare their own meals. MCH Meals on Wheels also prepares a luncheon once a week for seniors and community members at a church in Camden.

Most of the older folks and people with disabilities who receive meals pay a small fee to help defray the real cost of the meal. A little less than 20 percent of the program cost is supported by government grants. Community support from individuals, businesses and organizations helps to pay for 50 percent of the program costs. Many Meals on Wheels programs serving other regions in Maine and the U.S. operate exclusively on grant and fees revenue, with less robust community support. But community support thus far has enabled MCH Meals on Wheels to provide meals to all those in need, without a waiting list and to deliver meals every day, five days a week.

And food isn’t the only nourishment the program offers. Meals on Wheels provides vital daily social contact between volunteers and recipients, which goes a long way to helping the volunteers and the housebound maintain their senses of community and caring.

Financial support for Karker's MCH Meals on Wheels Century Ride will assist the program in continuing to provide meals to all those in need, without a waiting list.

Tax deductible donations can be sent to:

MCH Meals on Wheels Century Ride
MCH Inc.
46 Summer Street
Rockland, ME 04841

Or donations can be made securely online at mchinc.org by locating the “Donate Today!” button on the home page, then selecting “MCH Meals on Wheels” as the designated program to support, along with payment information.