Our year has been filled with so much joy, gratitude, and kind individuals who make it possible to deliver More Than a Meal to our vulnerable neighbors. You End the Wait. Ensuring our seniors are not on hold for nutrition, connection, and life-saving wellness checks. Check out all that we have been up to this year!
All volunteers received awesome new Meals on Wheels trucker hats to wear when delivering or preparing meals. This was made possible by a generous anonymous donor. We had our first volunteer group of the year! St Simon the Tanner Church had kids from their school help us package our meals for our deliveries.
Meals on Wheels participated in their first Cars and Coffee. This event was filled with awesome cars, good conversations, and most importantly, all ticket proceeds went directly back to Meals on Wheels of Sarasota.
FP restoration came back to visit us a second year in a row! They had their team split up and deliver different routes. Our clients were excited to see them again.
Accomplished Home Care, Liana at Sarasota, and Mission Minded Women donated pet food/ litter for our pet love program. They provided 18 bags of dog food, 2 bags of cat food, and 1 bag of cat litter.
Valentines Day was filled with special treats to share the love with our clients. The Kathleen K Catlin Foundation provided our clients with a special pot roast meal. See’s Candies donated a ton of assorted candies, Bank of America and Sarasota Retired Educators made handwritten cards, along with cookies that were provided by Gamma Omicron. Finally, our volunteers were treated with some delicious hot dogs and puffcorn to give back just a little love they give our clients every day!
We loved welcoming back Atlas Insurance, sharing our mission, and having them package and prepare meals. Team members from American Red Cross came to tour our facility and see how we send out 450+ meals to seniors each day. Finally, we had Whole Foods Market at the downtown Sarasota location volunteer with us for the first time!
March was also filled with immense generosity. Horizon Insurance donated $663 with their “Pay it Forward” program. The Patterson Foundation welcomed us to participate in the “Study Away Program”. Two students from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy created a donor stewardship plan to help form meaningful relationships.
The Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club’s grant of $7,500 taps into our strategic goal of addressing unmet needs. Specifically, their funds help supplement meals to clients in the 34240 zip code.
Our annual fundraiser, March for Meals, was a success! Exceeding our $125,000 goal and raising more than $140,000. Thank you all who showed up and made this event possible!
Whole Foods Market at University Town Center and Williams Parker Law joined in on the fun and brought fun-filled groups to volunteer with us.
Coldwell Banker Realty had its “Coldwell Cares” bowling event. We were thrilled to bowl with attendees of the event as one of the beneficiaries. At the end of the event, they raised more than $3,000 that went directly into our home delivered meal program.
Partnerships with important organizations strengthened. Chef Steve from Indigenous and Chef Mick Dean from Mean Dean’s met with our team to discuss ways to add fresher and more nutritious food to our organization.
Executive Director, Rhonda Leiberick, launched the collaboration with the Sarasota Police Department. They committed to driving a route a week to get to know the clients we serve and how they may help further when wellness checks occur.
April was National Volunteer Appreciation Month. Read more below about three of our volunteers and why they volunteer at Meals on Wheels of Sarasota.
“People are hungry. It is a small sacrifice I can make for them.”– Vicki L, South Driver
“Being active and out in the community and meeting other volunteers or clients is why I choose to volunteer at Meals on Wheels.”– Rachel D, Driver/Packer
“I enjoy helping out in the community. I love to help and work with a variety of people and meet people from all walks of life”– John B, Kitchen/Packer
Riverview High School’s Key Club made handmade cards for Older Americans Month, writing sweet messages and wishing them well. The Subaru Share the Love event was a success, with Subaru donating portions of its proceeds to local Meals on Wheels. Volunteers Rosemary and Suzi attended the Janie Foe block party, where they shared with the community more about our mission here at Meals on Wheels. Finally, Executive Director, Rhonda Leiberick, got to hear from the CEO of Meals on Wheels of America, Ellie Hollander, where she shared some practical tools for the #EndtheWait campaign.
Summer officially began with rain, rain, and lots of rain! Some of our volunteers sent us some great pictures of them braving it out in this weather!
June W, 88 years old, shared her story on how Meals on Wheels of Sarasota has helped her.
“Meals on Wheels is a great help to me when my husband was sick. We knew we could count on this organization to give both of us access to daily nutritious meals.”
June was filled with so many incredible groups! Thank you, Baldwin Insurance Group, Arium Grovewalk, Church of the Redeemer, IAT Insurance, and Williams Parker for spending your morning with us!
We launched our first-ever Hurricane Kit Program. Thank you to Pulte Homes, American Red Cross, FP Restoration, Bank of America, and All Faiths Food Bank for making this project possible.
Town Square at University Parkway held its “Together we Blossom” event, raising awareness around Alzheimer’s. Thank you for choosing us as a beneficiary of this event.
The American Red Cross held a community adaptation for its various partners. We got to share ideas and hear stories on how to better prepare in the case of a natural disaster.
Kenneth W, age 93, shared with us why he is a recipient of Meals on Wheels.
“Meals on Wheels helps me worry less about what my next meal is going to be”.
The Board of Directors had their “Board Member Volunteer Day”. Each member got to be hands-on and see what it takes to send out 450+ meals every single day! John Hermansen, Board of Directors President, got a featured post about his time so far in this role.
St Barbara Greek Orthodox Church generously donated $1,000 towards our Home Delivered Meal Program.
We highlighted three incredible volunteers: Barbara, Sherry, and Carolyn.
“A year ago, in December, Carolyn was diagnosed with brain cancer, which she has conquered, but has left her legally blind. Not one to let things like cancer and less sight get in her way, she has continued to help me every Friday, delivering meals to our friends on 1A. Here’s to many more Friday meal deliveries.”- Sherry K, Volunteer Driver
Clyde S, age 89, shared with us why he is a recipient of Meals on Wheels
“Meals on Wheels has been a tremendous help. I really value being able to remain independent at home while receiving a nutritious meal and a warm greeting from a friendly volunteer. My appetite isn’t what it used to be, so I appreciate that the portions are just the right size—satisfying without being too much.”
We welcomed both Crowe and Garney group to our organization! Crowe helped us send frozen meals for the holidays, while Garney helped pack and deliver a few routes!
Williams Parker came back to volunteer again, making them win the highest amount of hours of a group volunteering in 2025.
The Kiwanis Club of Siesta Key sent a few of its members to learn more about our organization and how they can further get involved. We also received a grant of $15,000 from the Wilson-Wood Foundation.
To prepare for the Labor Day holiday, our volunteers helped us send out more than 1,000 meals for the days we would be closed. Check it out!
Thank you to SaraMana and Williams Parker Law for being our volunteer groups for the month of September!
The Sarasota Chamber sent members from its “Falling for Sarasota” initiative, where they volunteered more than 500 hours in the Sarasota community. Thank you for driving three routes and helping package our meals!
Our awesome volunteers helped us send out gallons of water to our clients who needed a supply!
Thank you Gilbane and St Simon the Tanner Church, for packaging meals during the spookiest season of the year!
This was also the month of outreach efforts. Volunteers Rachel and Rosemary attended the University Parkway Expo to share their experience being volunteers at Meals on Wheels of Sarasota.
Kate Ayres, Development Coordinator, spoke to a group of ladies from St Barbara Orthodox church about how their donation has helped their organization.
Suncoast Aging Network invited Meals on Wheels of Sarasota to their meeting, where they presented a $3,000 check for the Home Delivered Meal Program.
Church of the Redeemer held a pet food drive during their blessing of the animals. Parishioners donated pet toys, food, and litter to our clients enrolled in the Pet Love Program.
Our new Culinary Director, Brant Good, was hired to revamp our kitchen operations by bringing delicious new recipes filled with nutritious ingredients.
Our annual volunteer appreciation event took place with good company, delicious food, fun raffle prizes, and most importantly, filled with our awesome volunteers!
Jack U, age 70, shared with us why he is a recipient of Meals on Wheels
“Thank you, Meals on Wheels, for all you do. It really helps all of us here at the boarding house. It is the lunch we rely on and look forward to every day.”
FP Restoration, The Wellness Way, and Goodwyn Mills Cawood helped us tremendously through volunteering during the season of gratitude.
Happy Veterans Day! We sent out handwritten cards and little American flags to 55 of our clients who are veterans.
Our kitchen is fully staffed! Please welcome Peggy and Gera to Brants team.
Thank you, Publix Super Market Charities, for your generous grant of $10,000 to supplement meals for our clients who qualify for free or reduced-rate meals based on their household income.
We’re thrilled to announce that Church of the Redeemer has awarded us its largest grant yet—$35,000 to help provide 5,500+ meals for homebound neighbors in need. They’re also launching a new volunteer partnership to deepen community engagement. Thank you for helping us nourish Sarasota! 
Ho ho ho! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. Thank you Chris P, for being our Meals on Wheels Santa Claus. Our clients loved seeing Santa during the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
We were blown away by all the generous gifts this season. It is truly the season of giving! In fact, there were so many awesome donations that they are in a separate blog post. Check it out below.
