Meals on Wheels fundraiser already ahead of the game

By Lethbridge Herald on December 2, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

The 17th annual Meals on Wheels “23 Days of Christmas” Honorary Chef and Christmas Card fundraising campaign organized by Select People Solutions and Teamworks Career Centre has officially launched with already great results. 

Ryan Miller, president of Teamworks, said Monday during the official launch of the campaign that the whole month of December is already sponsored, and they are really close to reaching their big goal this year.

“We’ve set a goal to hit the $400,000 in total contribution this year and we’re at $374,000 today. So, we’re shooting for $26,000 in this year’s campaign or more, to hit that wonderful milestone,” said Miller. 

Miller explained how the campaign works and said every weekday when Meal on Wheels operates in December there are ways to sponsor them. 

“That can be done by becoming an honorary chef, as a head chef sponsor a full day for $1,000 or half day as a sous chef to share that day with another organization or person,” said Miller. 

But because not every organization or one person can always give as much, they also have an option to purchase a $30 gift card from Cuppers, which is a partner in the campaign, and every card purchase sponsors one meal. 

On average, 2,000 meals are delivered in December by Meals on Wheels. The goal of this project is to sponsor all of these meals through funds raised by the 23 Days of Christmas Campaign, and to play a critical role in keeping the organization fully operational throughout the year. 

Amy Cook, support services manager with the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization explained that Meals on Wheels works in a threshold system based on income, with the most expensive meal being charged at $12.75 but costing more than that to make. 

“We’re losing money, which means we rely on donations. If we end the year with a deficit, we just end the year with a deficit and we try to make up for it where we can,” said Cook. “Not the best business model obviously, but we’re in the business of people and we’re in the business of keeping people in their homes and creating a community of safety, dignity and integrity.” 

She said they do not turn any senior away, and they have not raise their prices for a long time and will not raise them any time soon, because if they do, seniors would go hungry. 

“We heavily rely on campaigns like this and donations throughout the year, so it’s so heartwarming and so validating to the work that we’re doing to see this kind of response,” said Cook. 

She said they have received calls from clients, sometimes in tears, about how grateful they are for being able to eat that day because of Meals on Wheels. They have also gotten some calls from families who their family member just got discharged from the hospital unexpectedly and they are not available to help, and they need to feed them. 

“We rely very heavily on this money year-round. It makes up about 10 per cent of our deficit that we accumulate yearly in order for us to continue to subsidize meals and feed people,” said Cook. 

She said since food is a basic human right, to be able to show people they are worthy of a meal it is very important for Meals on Wheels and therefore, they are grateful for every sponsor. 

“Because of campaigns like this, sponsors like these, and because of our volunteers, we’re able to keep costs low. So, I really can’t speak enough to how important this program is, to how valued this is and how much we appreciate it,” said Cook. 

Nancy Graham, Cuppers Coffee and Tea store manager said it is important to them to continue partnered with Teamworks for this campaign because of the impact it has on the community, and because it is a win-win situation. 

“Community knows we support and so they support us, and we really appreciate that,” said Graham. 

She said they have 300 gift cards to be sold to help with 300 meals. 

“The cards are usable as of Jan. 1 just so we don’t get overwhelmed at Christmas, which is a really busy season. But they make a fantastic gift, and they never expire,” said Graham.