LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — A Lee’s Summit nonprofit that helps put food on the table could be in it’s final days if it can’t pay thousands of dollars.
One Good Meal feeds more than 100 elderly and home-bound people every day and might soon be serving it’s final lunch.
“It’s reassuring to know that someone cares and they’ll stop by and see you,” director Roberta McArthur said.
For the past 23 years, One Good Meal has been working hard to make sure those who need it are fed.
“It started in 1995 with my mother. We met a lady who needed food, and had no resources to get it. My mother went ballistic, and we started serving her,” McArthur said. “I didn’t realize how much it would mean to me. This is the reason I get up in the morning, and I love every second of it.”
However, at the end of May, McArthur might serve her last. A grant she’s been waiting on hasn’t come through, and donations are drying up.
“I have been asked to come up with $17,500 by the end of this month or I won’t be able to continue feeding people,” McArthur said.
Even through the hardship, she’s trying to stay optimistic.
“I’m trying not to cry about it. There’s no point in crying now. Check with me again on the 31st. Then we’ll know if I’m crying, okay?” McArthur said.
She knows people like Clara Lord, a longtime client in her 90s, needs her help.
“When I broke my arm it was a godsend. I don`t know what I would have done without the meals,” Lord said.
Joseph Dyer is a volunteer and said Lee’s Summit needs this organization.
“A lot of the seniors are on a fixed income. They have to pay for their meds and stuff. It’s a choice they have to make, but with One Good Meal coming in and giving them the help they need it helps them out a great deal,” Dyer said.
McArthur hopes with your help she can serve her community one meal at a time.
“I know one good meal makes a difference. I know the people we deliver to really appreciate it, and I don`t want to give it up,” McArthur said.
She is waiting to hear back on a few grants, but based on the time they usually take she doesn’t believe they can come through in time to save the organization. McArthur plans to continue to look for donations and other funding options as long as she can.
If you would like to donate or help One Good Meal, you can visit their website here.