The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with Mountainland Association of Governments to bring the Meals on Wheels program to the area.
Through Meals on Wheels, seniors aged 60 or older who are unable to leave their homes without assistance can sign up to have meals delivered directly to their door.
Spokesperson Skylar Talbot said the Summit County Sheriff's Office is the newest vendor in the program, and the Summit County Jail’s kitchen staff will prepare the meals.
“We'll prepare those meals. Box those meals, get them ready for delivery,” he said. “Someone from Meals on Wheels will actually come to the sheriff's office, get those meals and then deliver them.”
Talbot said the jail employs a full kitchen staff, but inmates also have the opportunity to cook.
“We're very big on programming, and this is really going to elevate those inmates who choose to work in the kitchen,” he said. “They help prepare meals for other individuals in jail, but this is really going to increase the amount of time that they can spend in that program.”
Talbot said the Sheriff’s Office is excited to get involved in helping local seniors. He said the program also comes at no cost to taxpayers — Mountainland Association of Governments pays for the meals and deliveries, asking for a voluntary $4 donation per meal.
The first meals from the Summit County Jail’s kitchen will head out to local seniors Sept. 4.
