A Year of Showing Up: Our 2025 Impact at Meals on Wheels America

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.

By the Numbers: What Your Support Made Possible

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:

• $3.6+ million in direct grants
• Over $1 million through Subaru of America’s Share the Love® Event
• $668,000+ through gift distributions and pilot programs

Across seven national grant programs, that funding helped power real, measurable impact:

• 11,255 volunteers stepped up
• 381,610 volunteer hours were given
• 13,467 new seniors were served
• 20,073 existing clients received new or expanded services

Each number represents meals delivered, doors knocked and lives touched.

Familiar Faces, Powerful Voices

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.

In the Press: National Recognition and Media Coverage

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.

Standing Up for Seniors When It Mattered Most

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.

• Providers hosted 80+ elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels.
• Our board joined us for an Advocacy Day to meet directly with members of Congress.
• We coordinated a visit from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland, giving administration leaders a firsthand look at the vital importance and impact of this work.
• We proudly endorsed legislation that would help End the Wait™, protect funding and help seniors access essential services with dignity.
• And when seniors needed a national voice, Meals on Wheels America stepped into the spotlight — with Ellie Hollander and Chief Advocacy and Policy Officer Josh Protas appearing on CNN on two separate occasions to stand up for older adults nationwide and help the country understand the crisis at hand.

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.

Research That Drives Real Change

This year, we strengthened the evidence behind the mission.

• We updated and expanded our fact sheets, covering topics like health outcomes, funding realities, waitlists and the impact of federal shutdowns.
• Through our Waitlist Research Initiative, we interviewed 134 local providers to better understand the barriers they face, and how we can help eliminate waitlists everywhere.
• Research isn’t just data. It’s a tool for action.

Partnerships That Scaled Care Nationwide

This year, our partners didn’t just support the mission; they helped scale it.

• The 2024 Subaru Share the Love Event marked our 17th year of partnership with Subaru of America, resulting in more than $1.1 million distributed to 306 local providers nationwide in 2025.
• The Home Depot Foundation helped repair and modify homes for veteran seniors, and together, we celebrated the 4,000th veteran home repaired through Meals on Wheels America’s Helping Homebound Heroes program.
• Together with PetSmart Charities, we celebrated the delivery of our 15 millionth pet meal, keeping beloved pets with the seniors who depend on them, and renewed their commitment for another three years.
• Caesars Foundation invested in our first-ever Collaborative Accelerator Initiative to strengthen local providers’ fundraising and infrastructure; separately, Caesars guests contributed more than $500,000 through a customer donation campaign.
• Since the beginning of our partnership in 2022, Food Lion Feeds has contributed more than $1.3 million to Meals on Wheels America and local providers, supporting the delivery of services to more than 23,500 older adults.
• DoorDash supported free-delivery pilots for 30+ providers and waived delivery fees during November when shutdown disruptions hit hardest.

Together, these partnerships helped communities do more — faster.

Looking Ahead with Gratitude

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.