ROCKLAND, Maine — The organization that has provided Meals on Wheels to the midcoast for more than 45 years will go ahead with an expansion plan even with the possibility that the state will be soliciting proposals that could lead to changes in the program.
MCH has filed an application with the Rockland code enforcement office to build a 520-square-foot addition to the ground floor of the Methodist Conference Home on Summer Street. The addition is to expand the kitchen and dining area.
The $300,000 project is expected to take six months to complete.
The Rockland Planning Board is expected to review the proposal at its June 7 meeting.
MCH cooks meals for the Meals on Wheels program in its kitchen at the Methodist Conference Home. Executive Director Lee Karker said the expansion will be done regardless of whether the state solicits bids for other organizations to provide Meals on Wheels.
About 115 to 120 meals a day are cooked for Meals on Wheels recipients and another 30 meals a day for residents of the Methodist Conference Home, Karker said.
The meals are delivered by a volunteer network.
“I’m confident we will continue to be providing the meals here for a long time,” Karker said.
In a talk Wednesday with business leaders in Presque Isle, Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said the agency is not necessarily going ahead with plans to issue a request for proposals seeking competitive bids to run the federally funded Meals on Wheels program.