Keyshawn Dixon prepares to load hot food for delivery to the elderly by Meals On Wheels in Dallas on Jan. 30, 2025. —LM Otero—APMeals on Wheels, the 72-year-old group that delivers food and companionship to the homes of elderly people, is not immune from the struggles facing America’s nonprofit sector. Applications for meals have risen, volunteers are down, gas and food prices are higher, and the federal funding that supports much of the organization’s work has been down or flat for years. Some local organizations have been forced to close or merge. As the president and CEO of Meals on Wheels America, the advocacy group for the loosely affiliated locally run organizations, Ellie Hollander is deeply familiar with the challenges faced by old people and by the volunteers who keep the neighborhood meals coming. “It’s heart-wrenching to me, and it’s stunning that older adults are not prioritized in our country,” she says. In April, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave Hollander’s organization $70 million, her biggest gift so far this year. Hollander talks about how the organization is planning on using such a huge gift, why the waiting lists for Meals on Wheels services keep getting longer, and the difficulties of simply getting volunteers reimbursed for their gas mileage. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.Is it fair to say that Meals on Wheels is the least controversial charity in the United States?I would certainly like to think so. When we did our last public survey of voters 18 and above,…
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