YOUR IMPACT IN 2024 - THE PLUS PROGRAMS | |
As we look to the year ahead, we want to thank you for the support that made our critical work possible in 2024. Our sincere thanks to our Board of Directors, volunteers, donors, staff, and clients for making 2024 a fantastic year! | |
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Home-delivered Meals
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Over 190,000 meals were served to Home-delivered Meal clients in 2024.
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An average of 110 clients received pet food for their furry companions each month.
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2,400 bags of supplemental food were provided to low-income seniors, in addition to their regular meal delivery.
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An average of 535 homebound and disabled seniors were cared for through our Home-delivered Meal program each month in 2024.
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Nearly 19,500 pounds of fresh produce were delivered through our Produce on Wheels program.
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Food Bank of Manatee
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Nearly 3,800,000 pounds of food was distributed from the Food Bank into Manatee County in 2024.
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Over 115 Food Pantries and Partner Agencies in our community partnered with us to #FeedManatee in 2024.
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Over 38,000 pounds of fresh produce was provided free of charge through Mobile Produce Pantry distributions in high need areas.
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Over 2,100 Emergency Baby Baskets including diapers, wipes, and formula were provided to infants in crisis situations during 2024.
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Nearly 250 families received Emergency Food Baskets.
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Hurricane Relief Efforts
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Over 3,100 shelf-stable meals were provided to seniors in our community in early-June in preparation for hurricane season.
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3 significant storms impacted our community in a matter of weeks.
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Over 110,000 meals were provided to Manatee County residents impacted by the storms.
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38 neighborhoods in our community received supplies such as food, cleaning supplies, tools, and clean drinking water.
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Mobilized volunteers who provided 209 hours of Hurricane Relief service to the community.
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Daybreak Adult Day Center
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An average of 65 clients each month were provided compassionate care, exciting programs and nutritional meals at Daybreak Adult Day Center, the only licensed and federally funded Adult Day Care Center in Manatee County.
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Friendship Dining Centers
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An average of 54 clients participated at our Friendship Dining Centers in 2024.
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Over 1,500 meals were provided to clients at our Friendship Dining Centers in 2024.
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Transportation
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An average of 41 clients received transportation to and from Daybreak Adult Day Center and Friendship Dining Center programming each month.
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Volunteers & Outreach
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Nearly 23,000 volunteer hours were served in 2024.
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October had the highest amount of new volunteers, due to our Hurricane Relief efforts.
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An average of over 190 volunteers each month helped advance our mission.
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Meals on Wheels PLUS participated in over 40 outreach events throughout Manatee County.
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Holiday Meal Distribution | It was a great day to be able to provide Holiday hams with all the fixings to those in need in our community during our December Holiday Meal Distribution held on the 19th! Thank you to the many volunteers who assisted and to everyone who donated to make the distribution a success. An additional distribution to benefit the Rubonia Community was held on Monday, December 23rd. The holidays were brighter for 600 families in Manatee County because of the support from our community! | |
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Oh, what fun it is to share a great gift with people we care about! This Holiday Season, every client in our senior programs received a Holiday Shoebox filled with fun, festive, and practical gifts.
How much did they love the gifts? A Client called in to express her gratification and appreciation for the Holiday Shoebox. The Client stated, “It was a wonderful gift to receive and I can use everything in the present. Thank you to everyone who helped to give me this gift. It made me very happy.”
Another Client called to say, “Thank you so much for the Shoebox. I really enjoyed the gift. It brought me joy.”
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Friendship Dining Centers | |
Clients in our Friendship Dining program enjoyed receiving a Holiday Shoebox, filled with special gifts! This program started 19 years ago and has grown every year! The Holiday Shoeboxes made the Holidays very special for so many people! Thank you to everyone who participated! | |
Daybreak Adult Day Center | |
Everything was merry and bright at Daybreak Adult Day Center when our friends from the Wilson-Wood Foundation enjoyed the Holiday Party with our clients. It was a busy, festive week when the students from Woodland Academy joined the Daybreak Clients for crafts and games! | |
Current & Upcoming Events: | | |
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Join us for our Galentine’s Brunch and Bubbly. Ticket includes champagne brunch and one raffle ticket. Remember to bring a $10 wrapped gift to be included in the Cupid Red Elephant Gift Exchange. Purchase tickets now!
Our Tropical Nights Signature Fundraising Event is set for Saturday, March 1st, at Grove Ballroom in Lakewood Ranch. Follow the link to purchase tickets and for sponsorship opportunities.
Our Drive Away Hunger Golf Classic will be held on Friday, May 16th, at Rosedale Golf & Country Club. Registration details will be available soon. We look forward to seeing you there!
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United Presbyterian Church donated the most beautiful boxes for our annual Holiday Shoebox Event. One of the members, Andrea Harmon, wrapped all the boxes herself and then gave them out to the members to fill. She has done this for 10 years and enjoys watching the World Series as she wraps. To these kind-hearted people, they might feel like they’re “just” wrapping or “just” putting some things into a Holiday Shoebox, but we want everyone to know that these gifts are received with such joy and they truly make our senior friends feel the warmth of the season.
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Thank you to our AMAZING Holiday Shoebox volunteers and to everyone who donated Holiday Shoeboxes to help bring joy to seniors in our community! We asked, and you answered with over 2,400 Holiday Shoeboxes donated! It takes many hands to wrap, fill, check, move, and load thousands of Holiday Shoeboxes. Our thanks to everyone who made it possible. In addition to our senior clients, we shared the extra Holiday Shoeboxes with low-income senior housing facilities throughout Manatee County. To see a photo gallery of the Shoeboxes, please click here.
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We would like to thank all the Thanksgiving Day runners at both the Bradenton Runners Club and the Lake Club Turkey Trot for their amazing support of The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. These two events were no ordinary Thanksgiving Day runs! The Food Bank received generous donations from both race organizers! High-fives to all who participated and ushered in our 2024 holidays with such a great start! | |
It's a New Year! We Invite You to Become an
Annual Sponsor! | |
If you are looking for a great way to show your support for our lifesaving mission, Annual Sponsorship is a great option! Our vibrant Annual Sponsorship program is available for businesses and individuals and includes visibility, tickets to events, and more! Click here to learn more about becoming an Annual Sponsor in 2025. Please call or email Kelly Pinskey (kpinskey@mealsonwheelsplus.org or 941-747-4655) to discuss further and sign up! | |
Thanks to our 2024 Sponsors! | |
Food Distribution Programs |January 2025 | |
If you are a senior needing meals delivered to your home, we can help! Our Home-delivered Meal program is available to Manatee County residents. | |
The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, provides non-perishable food items to local food pantries and soup kitchens. | |
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Our Mobile Produce Pantry will be out and about in the community providing fresh and nutritious produce free of charge.
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