YPSILANTI, MI – Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels, a volunteer-based meal delivery service, was recently the victim of vandalism that could cost the organization as much as $100,000, said Barbara Niess-May, the organization’s president.

“It feels senseless and we don’t understand why,” said Niess-May. “Something like this is happening, it’s very disturbing. It really shocked us.”

According to Ypsilanti police, police were called to the First Baptist Church at 1110 West Cross Street, the program’s headquarters, at 7:56 a.m. on July 27 after three Meals on Wheels vehicles were severely damaged.

In surveillance camera footage, officers saw three people, believed to be masked, jumping on the vehicles and throwing rocks at the windshields, police said. Police have not yet been able to identify any suspects, but said there have been a number of similar vandalism attacks in the area recently.

The passenger windows and windshields of the vehicles were badly damaged, Niess-May said, leaving the vehicles undriveable. The vehicles were insured, Niess-May said, but there are other costs. The company is also considering building a garage to secure the vehicles, she said.

Meals on Wheels serves about 350 households and delivers nearly 130,000 meals annually, providing nutritious meals, socializing and other services to homebound elderly, ill and disabled people in eastern Washtenaw County, Niess-May said.

“We often say we are more than a meal,” Niess-May said. “We work with caregivers and we are more than Ypsilanti.”

Due to the damage to the organization’s vehicle, the group’s truck was no longer recognizable in the days following the vandalism, which Niess-May said confused Meals on Wheels users.

“It’s difficult to get people to open the door,” Niess-May said.

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