NILES — Almost every Thursday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Niles, members of the Michiana Metro Lighthouse Chorus gather and sing. Almost every day, staff and volunteers of Meals on Wheels Southwest Michigan prepare and serve meals to elderly residents.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, both groups will headline the third concert of the Niles Summer Concert Series at Riverfront Park. The Lighthouse Chorus will sing, and Meals on Wheels staff will set up a booth to take donations for their nonprofit.

The pairing is a requirement to be a part of the series. A musical group must pair up with a local non-profit and, together, host a Thursday summer evening concert at the Riverfront Park’s amphitheater.

This is neither group’s first time at the concert series. They hosted a concert together last year, but “torrential rain” caused them to host in the Niles District Library, said Linda Strohl, executive director of Meals on Wheels. This year, both groups hope to perform outside.

Strohl said she loves the city of Niles and knows that it has had its challenges. She sees a few of them firsthand.

“The number of meals we deliver in Niles has doubled in the last three years,” she said. “It’s probably our biggest route just because of the number of seniors that are living there and difficulties in access to food.”

The organization serves elderly area residents in two ways that some other food nonprofits do not. Organizations like pantries cannot always serve homebound area residents. Not all residents may be able to prepare the foods provided either, Strohl said.

Meals on Wheels prepares and delivers hot and cold meals to elderly homebound residents of Berrien and Van Buren counties. It also prepares and serves meals at Berrien, Cass and Van Buren-county senior centers.

The 26 staff members and 70 volunteers delivered more than 66,000 meals to senior centers and more than 144,000 meals to homebound people.

The need for more food service in Meals on Wheels’ area is increasing, Strohl said. That is why the organization is asking for monetary donations which will be used to buy food.

“Our meal counts have gone up double-digits every year for the past three years without the funding to support that,” she said. “We are working very hard to try not to start a waiting list for seniors who need meals.”

Strohl said serving food, especially to homebound people, creates what she calls a “senior meal trifecta.”

Not only are residents served what is hoped to be a nutritious meal, they are also given daily social contact and a wellness check. The latter two points can go a long way, Strohl said.

“The drivers get to know their seniors so well,” she said. “They know if something is a little off or if they’re off their schedule.”

This, she said, can take some weight off the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people Meals on Wheels serves, most of whom are 85 and older. If an ambulance or family is needed, volunteer drivers will stay there until help arrives.

Some of Lighthouse Chorus’ members are familiar with food services. The group has a long history of using its collective voice to raise money for nonprofits, some of which are food servicers, said its marketer and promoter, Brenda Ropp.

Ropp estimates that the all-men’s chorus has helped raise almost $30,000 over the course of its existence by performing various tunes, from doo-wop to ballads, jazz tunes to World War-era barbershop quartet songs.

“They’re always ready to respond to the call and help out whoever’s in need,” she said.

This year, the chorus has added several Disney songs to its normally classic setlist that could be sung at Thursday’s concert. Not only does the chorus attend fundraisers and assist nonprofits, Ropp said, the group tries to reach as many demographics with its music as well.

“They all love to sing,” she said, referring to the chorus’ 25 members. “They love to share the joy of singing with the community, and if they can give back to the community in the process by helping nonprofit organizations, they’re quick to respond to that offer.”

The Lighthouse Chorus and Meals and Wheels share a connection outside of a history of partnering for the Niles Summer Concert Series. Strohl’s brother is a member of the chorus.

“I feel very warm and fuzzy toward them, shall we say,” Strohl said. “He’s been singing acapella all his life with a men’s singing group. If you have never heard a men’s acapella group, it is phenomenal. It really is amazing.”