Columbus, OH (November 19, 2025)— Today, The Columbus Foundation’s Governing Committee approved a $500,000 grant to LifeCare Alliance to provide critical operating support, with a focus on its Meals-on-Wheels program, which serves more than 7,000 meals a day across five central Ohio counties.
For more than 50 years, LifeCare Alliance has operated the Meals-on-Wheels program, delivering nourishing meals and a regular wellness check-in 365 days a year to adults 60 years and older and individuals with a medical challenge and/or disability.
To date, LifeCare Alliance has been able to continue to provide this service without having to put individuals who are new to the program on a waitlist. However, with recent funding challenges from a variety of sources, the organization is at risk of having to divert and not accept additional clients.
Meals-on-Wheels numbers in central Ohio are at historic levels, currently 80 percent higher than before COVID-19, and on track to provide a record breaking 1.8 million meals in 2025. According to LifeCare Alliance, it is one of the five largest Meals-on-Wheels providers in the country, and in 2024, 1,523,778 meals were delivered to 6,803 Meals-on-Wheels clients and the Under 60 program served 142,643 meals to 565 clients.
“This investment highlights the critical role LifeCare Alliance plays in our community in terms of supporting vulnerable seniors through not only the Meals-on-Wheels program but other crucial services as well,” said Doug Kridler, President and CEO of The Columbus Foundation.
About The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation, one of the top 10 community foundations in the United States, serves thousands of individuals, families, and businesses that have created unique funds and planned gifts to make a difference in the lives of others through the most effective philanthropy possible.