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See all communitiesThank you for braving the rain to break ground with us on a new campus for WesleyLife Meals on Wheels. This undertaking will expand our capacity to serve the older adults and veterans of the Greater Des Moines community. We are not just tripling the number of meals we can produce, we are also bring multi-generational programming and an indoor hydroponic garden to the Drake neighborhood.
We appreciate your support!
Richard Sickels,
Former Pastor and Meals on Wheels Driver
Rob Kretzinger,
President and CEO, WesleyLife
Sophia S. Ahmad
Vice President of Philanthropy, WesleyLife
The Hon. Christine Hensley
Des Moines City Council Member (retired),
Community Leader, Campaign Tri-Chair
Brad Anderson
State Director, AARP
Campaign Tri-Chair
The Hon. Angela Connolly,
Polk County Supervisor,
Campaign Tri-Chair
The Hon. Kim Reynolds
Governor, State of Iowa
The Hon. Cindy Axne
U.S. Representative, Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
The Hon. Frank Cownie
Mayor, City of Des Moines
Suzie Glazer Burt
Philanthropist and Community Leader
Shannon Draayer
Director of Health and Well-Being, WesleyLife
Our new campus will help power the fight against food insecurity among older adults and military veterans in Central Iowa by tripling meal capacity and offering programming to combat isolation.
The new campus is located at 3206 University Ave. in Des Moines, Iowa. The building was previously Drake University's School of Education.
The new kitchen will be 65% larger than the existing space with new equipment and a new layout to improve the efficiency and increase production from 1,000 to 3,000 meals per day.
The building's second story will be devoted to programming to build intergenerational connections for young and older adults alike in areas like arts, health and education.
A 3,000-square-foot indoor vertical garden in the lower level will grow fresh produce to enhance the meals' nutritional value year-round.
WesleyLife is committed to welcoming, serving, and employing person(s) in a safe, nondiscriminatory environment. This applies to WesleyLife directly and any contractor or other entity with which or whom we work.