The Meals on Wheels 2025 Year in Review highlights how, despite rising costs and growing need, communities nationwide came together to keep seniors nourished and connected. From millions of meals delivered to record-breaking advocacy efforts and national recognition, this past year proves what’s possible when compassion drives action.
If there’s one thing this year made clear, it’s this: when seniors need support, Meals on Wheels shows up, and you show up for Meals on Wheels.
In a year marked by rising costs, funding uncertainty, dramatic cuts to food and health care programs, and overall growing need, the network was empowered to step forward; delivering meals, human connection, safety checks and hope to millions of older adults across the country. None of this happens alone. It happens because of you.
Here’s a look back at what we accomplished together in 2025 — one meal, one visit, one connection at a time.
This year, Meals on Wheels America awarded more than $5.4 million to 392 local providers, helping them meet rising demand in their communities.
That support included:
Across seven national grant programs, that funding helped power real, measurable impact:
Each number represents meals delivered, doors knocked and lives touched.
In 2025, our movement grew louder.
We were honored to be joined by champions like Taylor Tomlinson, Taye Diggs, Yung BBQ, Joshua Killacky, Hayden Panettiere, Jeff Ross, Allison Janney, Jeff Bridges, Leeza Gibbons, Lamorne Morris, Laura Benanti, Jerry Rice, Nate Burleson, Kristen Bell, Leanne Morgan and Chef Reactions — all helping shine a light on senior hunger and isolation through engagement and amplification of our national awareness campaigns.
We also welcomed two new Meals on Wheels America ambassadors — Tiffani Thiessen and Adrienne Banfield-Norris — who joined us in amplifying the call for a future where no senior is left waiting.
You may have seen Meals on Wheels pop up this year while you were scrolling the morning headlines or waiting in a doctor’s office. Those stories weren’t just about our organization — they were about seniors in communities just like yours and other who are in need.
When Forbes recognized our president and CEO, Ellie Hollander, on the “50 Over 50” Impact list, it was really a nod to supporters like you who believe older adults deserve better than waiting for help. The article reminded readers that leadership only counts if it turns into meals on tables and friendly faces at the door.
Ellie Hollander also wrote an op-ed for USA TODAY that helped clear up a big misunderstanding many people have — that Meals on Wheels should survive on donations alone. Regular Americans learned that federal funding is a lifeline, and that without it, neighbors could lose meals, safety checks and the visits that keep loneliness at bay.
And in The Washington Post, experts connected rising senior malnutrition to real life: fixed incomes, empty refrigerators and the fear of being forgotten. Seeing that in a national paper helped everyday readers understand just how close this issue is to home.
The New York Times, The Guardian, Axios, Politico, Fast Company, Brown University News, Yahoo News, MS Now and TIME Magazine also connected the dots between America’s growing hunger crisis, the uncertainty around shutdowns, and the everyday realities of neighbors who rely on these services. More from Forbes and USA TODAY helped readers like you see why protecting senior nutrition isn’t political — it’s personal, whether the story was about budget debates, health care access or simply the fear of wheels slowing to a halt.
Every voice makes an impact. 2025 was not an easy year for older adults or the organizations that serve them.
Between stalled reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, inflation, the longest federal shutdown in history and its ongoing disruptions, local providers needed guidance and advocacy more than ever.
We answered that call.
But it was your voice that helped the most. In 2025, 34,120 messages were sent from Meals on Wheels supporters like you to members of Congress to urge them to protect seniors, and that made all the difference.
This year, we strengthened the evidence behind the mission.
This year, our partners didn’t just support the mission; they helped scale it.
Together, these partnerships helped communities do more — faster.
2025 asked more of everyone, and our network rose to meet the challenge.
Local providers worked harder. Volunteers delivered more. Advocates spoke louder. And supporters like you made it all possible.
As we look to the year ahead, one thing remains true: Meals on Wheels is the solution to senior hunger and isolation, and together, we will keep showing up so that every senior who needs Meals on Wheels gets it.
Thank you for keeping our wheels in motion. We can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish next.
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