Zelie Meals on Wheels becomes independent
ZELIENOPLE — For more than four decades, the Zelienople/Harmony/Evans City Meals on Wheels program has served meals to those in need.
The group, which was affiliated with Lutheran Service Society, had decided to operate on its own.
Meals on Wheels program director Barb Kaufman said people in the program and the volunteers should not notice any change as the operations will remain as they have for the past four decades.
The decision to go independent resulted from a change in the way bills for the program were paid.
In 2009, a policy change with the Lutheran Service Society required that all Meals on Wheels programs turn in their money and LSS paid all the bills.
Jerry Burr, a volunteer member of the steering committee with his wife Louise, said, “We'll be calling our own shots and will be able to do things the way we were doing things in the past.”
With the affiliation, there was no direct control over the finances. All funds raised and donations would have to be sent to the Lutheran Service Society, which in turn, paid the program's bills, Kaufman said.
Although there were never problems with the new bookkeeping system, Kaufman said there were members of the steering committee who weren't comfortable with the set up.
After speaking with the leadership at the society, Kaufman said they believed it wouldn't be a problem for the program to go on its own.
The Meals on Wheels program started on June 1, 1970, and continues to operate out of the basement of the English Lutheran Church at the intersection of Grandview Avenue and High Street.
With the change, the program becomes an official ministry of the English Lutheran Church. The program has always been considered a ministry program despite not being linked directly to the church, Kaufman said.
It started out serving six people and now serves between 42 and 45 meals per day with a peak of 59, said Kaufman, who has been with the program since it was established 43 years ago.
The program provides meals to residents living in Zelienople, Harmony, Evans City, Callery and part of Fombell in Beaver County and in Middle Lancaster, northern parts of Cranberry, Forward and Jackson townships.
The cost to receive meals is $20 per week or $4 per day, which Burr said the organization has not raised in years. That cost includes one hot and one cold meal per day.
Anyone interested in becoming involved with Meals on Wheels or learning about the program can call Kaufman at: 724-452-6676 or the center at 724-452-4270.
