Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the food drive Carrie Watkins started was called Grand Bob's Gobblers.

In early June, Meals on Wheels Montgomery County, which provides meal delivery and transportation services to those who qualify for assistance, named Carrie Watkins its new president and CEO, according to prior reporting.

Watkins, who has been with the nonprofit since September 2015, sat down with Community Impact to talk about her goals and priorities in the new role. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you first get started in nonprofit work?

I started volunteering for "In the Pink of Health." It was part of Memorial Hermann; ... they raise money for breast cancer and different things in the community. Through that, I met a lady who was on the board of directors for Meals on Wheels. She asked me one day if I would like to interview to be on the board of directors. ... So I interviewed for that and was on the board for three years. Then we had a new CEO come in, Summer, who just stepped down, but she offered me a job right away to be on the development side. It never feels like a job. I've been saying that for years.

Can you tell us about your journey with Meals on Wheels Montgomery County?

I was very close to my grandparents, and my grandfather passed away on a Thanksgiving morning. So my mom and I were just crying from then on about Thanksgivings. Finally, ... I was like, "OK, Mom, we have to quit wallowing in this; let's turn it around, and we're going to make this something to look forward to to celebrate him." So I started this [food drive]. I called it Grand Bob's Gobblers because I called him Grand Bob. ... We did it year after year after year and just always were competing with ourselves with how many pounds of food we could give [Interfaith of The Woodlands] and did that for 10 years. During COVID[-19], we had to take a pause. That was why my friend Andrea Rayford, who was on the [Meals on Wheels] board, ... [thought] about me [for the board of directors position]. ... It all came full circle.

How does it feel to be named president?

I just feel honored. Really. It's always felt like an honor to work here because it's an honor to serve the seniors—these are people who once served us. Whether it’s veterans, teachers, bankers, mailmen—people that live in this community their whole lives, ... they deserve to be served and taken care of in their last years.

What goals do you have for Meals on Wheels?

We are currently able to serve only about 5% of the need, although we run very efficient operations, we have very low overhead, and we have hundreds of volunteers. We serve as many clients as we possibly can with where we are right now. But there's just so much more need out there. My vision is that we can expand in a way that we can provide meal delivery service and transportation services for as many people as needed, and it's really just a funding issue for the most part.

Our business model revolves around having volunteers who are committed instead of paying people to drive food around. We are blessed with hundreds of volunteers who do it for us. They use their cars and their gas and they help us in that way and it makes our Meals on Wheels very unique compared to other Meals on Wheels in the country. I want to expand that way. if you look around our building, you'll see that we are busting at the seams. I visualize another bigger kitchen, or some kind of kitchen expansion so that we can add in some medically tailored meals, which is a goal.

What impact does Meals on Wheels have on the community?

It's kind of twofold. One is the home-delivered meals. People who have a disability of some sort, whether it's dementia or Alzheimer's, maybe they're a double amputee, there's lots of different things. Some you can see and some you can't see, but these folks cannot care for themselves. This is not a financially based program. This is literally about a disability. Being able to help those people stay healthy with nutritious meals, we make all of our meals in our kitchen from scratch. We have heart-healthy meals with the nutrients they need as they're aging. ...

On the other side is we offer free public transportation on [Americans with Disability Act] -compliant buses. We are the only ones in the county who do that. We have 11 buses that go literally from curb to curb service. These are not our home-delivered meal clients. These are almost all completely other clients. They can care for themselves, but maybe they can't drive. ... We pick them up at their house and we take them exactly to the door of where they need to be. Then we go back and pick them up and we take them back home. Some of these people have dialysis three times a week, every week. If we weren't there to get them, they can't get there, so they're going to call 911. They have no other options. ... We've got it all down to a very streamlined, efficient process, all we need is money to make it grow.

What is the biggest challenge facing Meals on Wheels now?

I would say the number one challenge is finding new and stable funding. Most of our funding, 65% of it, comes from grants—federal, state and local grants. So those dollars are not ever guaranteed. ... That's scary. We need to flip that.

What other short- or long-term future plans do you have for the nonprofit?

We've outgrown our space, and I'd love to see that expand, including the kitchen, which means the walk-in freezer and the fridge. We'd like to see a bus barn. We have all these amazing buses that are very, very expensive, ... but they're parked in the parking lot. So they're open to the elements or people taking catalytic converters. We have that need. I'm sure if you asked any corporate group that's been in here, they would say they really need a parking lot because there's nowhere for our volunteers to park. We just have a whole lot of opportunities for growth in many areas.

What do you want people to know about Meals on Wheels?

I want them to just know that we welcome them to come and visit us. I would love to give anyone a tour that wants to see what's going on behind the scenes. Because when you see what's happening, you smell the food being made, you can taste it. You see the seniors' faces. ... Just come and see us, and let us show you our story. You'll know immediately what the heart and soul of this organization is. It's really incredible to see how it all comes together. Our staff is incredible. ... Meals on Wheels is one of those names that everybody's heard of. But almost every single [Meals on Wheels] in the country is different, and this one is really special.