A local organization wants to make sure a city proposal to save money wouldn't be shifting the burden elsewhere.
The city is considering walking away from the Meals on Wheels program, a move that would save nearly $100,000 a year, and hand it off to an organization like the local Red Cross. The Red Cross has said the move would be a good fit for the organization as it has similar programs in other cities.
The Meals on Wheels program started in 1968 through the Lakehead Social Planning Council. Board president Mary Kozorys said they found out through the media that the program had come up under the city's core business review.
"It really came as a shock and as a surprise to us because we feel that the community has been very well served to date," she said.
The LSPC hopes that if the city were to hand the program over, it wouldn't be dumping the cost onto another organization in an effort to save money. That said, the Red Cross would be a great place to take over Meals on Wheels if it happened Kozorys said.
"I think they're a wonderful organization to take this on," she said.
Along with continuing the quality of service Meals on Wheels' clients have had for decades, Kozorys said it's important that the social interactions between volunteers and clients continue.
"I think that's something we don't often take into consideration," she said.
