CEO of Meals on Wheels Mercer County–Mrs. Sasa Olessi Montaña

Yesterday, I had the privilege to talk to Mrs. Sasa Olessi Montaña. She is a graduate from Johns Hopkins University who started her career in the nonprofit sector by founding Latinas Unidas, an organization that helps latino women prosper in the American Environment by teaching them how to speak English, earn citizenship, open a bank account, etc. Today, Latinas Unidas has been helping women for 30 years since its inception and Mrs. Montaña has moved on to leading and massively growing the Mercer County Branch of Meals on Wheels.

Meals on Wheels is a national corporation that has branched into virtually every community in the US, providing meals to citizens who simply cannot get out of the house because of disabilities or age. However, Mrs. Montaña wanted to make this emphasis: Meals on Wheels isn't a program that just provides meals to citizens, but one that also provides isolated citizens a friend who they can speak and interact with. Drivers who deliver meals choose to actively engage with those who they provide meals to, establishing important, even essential, relationships. After being trapped in this COVID environment, where we all hadn't been able to speak face-to-face with others, Mrs. Montaña believes that everyone can understand the plight of many of these disabled people who have been restricted within 4 walls for several years. Beyond the nutritional necessities the organization provides, she pursued Meals on Wheels because it was an excellent way to plant the seeds for numerous fruitful relationships even before a time when it was of utmost necessity.