When WesleyLife Meals on Wheels team members and volunteers set out each day, their deliveries represent far more than food. Each knock on the door means nourishment, connection, and reassurance for someone who may otherwise go without.
That mission reached an extraordinary milestone in October, when WesleyLife Meals on Wheels delivered its 4 millionth meal in central Iowa. Since joining the WesleyLife family in 2006, the program has grown from serving Polk County to reaching thousands of older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities across Polk, Warren, and Dallas counties.
In 2024 alone, the team served 428,000 meals, but the numbers tell only part of the story. Behind each delivery are connections forged, lives saved, and a sense of dignity restored. As executive director of community nutrition Shannon Draayer says, drivers have already intervened in 12 life-threatening situations this year alone.
“Meals on Wheels is a lifeline,” Sophia S. Ahmad, WesleyLife’s vice president of philanthropy, says. “It’s not just about providing nutritious meals — it’s about creating social connection and supporting the ability to age at home with dignity.”
Read more about this remarkable milestone and the people who make it possible in the Des Moines Register.
