- 1, 2, 3 rise in late October of 2025, meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky broke ground on the property of their future headquarters at the former John Nolan Ford dealership in Columbia Township.

Brick by Brick sat down with Chief Production Officer Michael Beck to understand the need for the new facilities and the greater need in the region.

- Our current space was designed for just over 300,000 meals.

We do 1.2 million.

We are outta space.

Nothing is designed the way an industry would design it to flow safely and properly.

We, we make do, but we can't expand, we can't get into new programs, we can't serve more people.

We'll be so much more efficient and safer in our new program so we can focus on what our seniors need and not just getting through our daily routines.

- Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky is a leading senior service provider in Greater Cincinnati.

Can you describe the challenges seniors face in our region and nationally, - The senior population is growing.

Baby boomers are aging into their later years in life and more and more it's the 401k generation.

It's the first generation that doesn't have pension to support.

So there's so much need in the area.

There's so much food insecurity.

One in four seniors live alone, so they don't have all the support systems.

- How does the Meals on Wheel service work and can you walk us through the operations?

- A client is referred to us and we set 'em up on meals, kind of neat thing.

In our area, Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, we offer choice.

So seniors can choose their menu in advance.

From there, we set 'em up on a regular delivery schedule and our drivers will go out and drop off, you know, a well-rounded meal, a balanced meal that they don't have to worry about.

- Hello, it's Meals on Wheels.

I just wanted to give you a heads up.

You are my next stop.

- Grant Toro Meals on Wheels.

Dispatcher and Driver took Brick by Brick on one of the early morning meal delivery routes.

He's on the front lines meeting the seniors the company serves and he shares the impacts he sees on a daily basis.

- Every time that I'm, that I'm on a route making deliveries, you're gonna get at least a few people that, you know, tell you what it means to them.

You know, I don't know, it just makes me realize like how much we can do for people.

It would be hard for me to believe that what we're doing isn't necessary and, and shouldn't be increased to help even more.

Like it's hard to put an exact number on, you know, what the consequences would be without it.

- How do you sustain the business of this operation?

- Yeah, that's a big challenge right now.

We, you know, funding is flat, it's gonna stay the same or lower, and yet our senior population and the need is growing.

So we are actively working to diversify our funding.

As part of that, we're building a new building just so we can address those needs moving forward.

'cause we know it's gonna be there - At the groundbreaking.

We met Mary MITs who spoke during the press conference.

Did I ever, the 82-year-old first heard about Meals on Wheels after a medical procedure, limited her mobility.

Her closest family member lives in Florida and she lives alone in a home she's had for 62 years.

I asked her to describe what Meals on Wheels has given her - Independence, companionship, there's all so nice and just help as you get older to be able to stay in my own home.

- Mary shares how these drivers not only deliver food, they deliver friendship, - Companionship mostly is by the people coming to deliver my meals.

I talk to them, I talk to the service people and you know, you can get kind of depressed, especially in the winter time, and they're always there to kind of lift you up.

- What challenges do you foresee that that may affect the operations of this business and also the seniors that you serve?

- Soon there'll be more seniors in the United States than there are people 18 and under.

That's never happened before.

And so, you know, it's the younger generation that funds through taxes and, and other programs, funds what can be done for seniors.

And so how are we going to bridge that gap?

There's less people putting into the fund, but there's more seniors that need help.

So we've gotta figure that out, you know, and, and we'll do that again.

Through collaboration and through diversification, we've gotta find different ways to get the job done.

- And with the ever expanding challenges seniors may face in the near future, meals on Wheels, expansion signals that they are willing to go the distance for Brick by Brick.

I'm Hearns Leger, Jr.