Alliance Meals on Wheels gets additional Healthy Aging Grant funds

ALLIANCE − An additional $15,275 in grants to support seniors will go to YWCA of Alliance to serve Meals on Wheels.

A total of $1,041,703 in Ohio Healthy Aging Grants was originally allocated to eight local nonprofits and charities, with $40,000 going to the Regional Planning Commission for grant administration. The state grants will fund internet, food, housing and other programs for seniors 60 and older in Stark County.

Stark County commissioners approved a revised Ohio Healthy Aging budget on Wednesday to include the additional funds from the state.

Ohio Healthy Aging Grants: Stark County providing more than $1 million in grants to aid seniors

Stacie Bacorn, executive director of the YWCA of Alliance, said the grant money will support the organization's Meals on Wheels Plus program, which provides food and interaction to seniors in need.

"It's so much more than a meal," she said. "It's contact daily, it's socialization."

"Socialization is very important for seniors' health and wellbeing," she said. "Without socialization, seniors can experience severe isolation, contributing to poor mental health and also worse physical health and lower life expectancy."

Bacorn said the program will address loneliness and food insecurity for seniors in Alliance.

"With this [grant], we'll be able to make more of an impact on those people that we maybe would have had to put on a waitlist because we did not have funding available," she said.

More: Stark County seniors are lonely and face negative stereotypes, survey says

This is the program's 53rd year. Bacorn said the program has been transformative for the community over the years, providing more independence for seniors who want to continue to live in their homes.

The YWCA is targeting seniors 60 and over who are no longer driving within the city of Alliance and some surrounding areas.

To learn more about the Meals on Wheels Plus program in Alliance, call the YWCA at 330-823-1840 and select option 2.

Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or gspringer@gannett.com. Follow her on X @GraceSpringer16.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: State funds to support Meals on Wheels program for Alliance seniors