Meals On Wheels
Feeds America's Seniors

Meals on Wheels provides a valuable service for seniors. They deliver fresh hot meals to the homebound on a daily basis five days each week. On Friday, meals for the weekend are delivered frozen so they can be conveniently heated and eaten over the weekend. This ensures each participant receives at least one healthy meal every day. 

Meals on Wheels operates on a set menu. The kitchen prepares the same meal for everyone so they are designed to be suitable for diabetics and heart patients. The meals are delivered in person by volunteers. This serves the double purpose of acting as a wellness check. If you fail to answer the door, the volunteer notifies the main office so they can take steps to make sure you are okay.

You are eligible for Meals On Wheels if you are at least 60 years old and homebound or have a disability that makes it difficult to cook for yourself. Many cities across the United States participate in the Meals on Wheels program and some of them may be set up through social programs that pay for your meals if your income is limited. If you have to pay for your meals yourself, you can expect to pay around $5-6 each.

Meals on Wheels has been in operation since the 1950s and has helped countless seniors in need of nutritious hot meals. Having meals delivered to the home can mean the difference between living at home independently and having to move into assisted living or a nursing home. Meals on Wheels has as its mission the goal to end hunger among senior citizens. For some, the warm meal they receive each day from Meals on Wheels is the only food they have.

While Meals on Wheels does what it can for the impoverished who would otherwise go hungry, it also serves others who find it difficult to feed themselves because they can't go out to the grocery store or they can't manipulate appliances and cook for themselves. This service also provides peace of mind to family members who live away in knowing their loved one is eating at least one nutritious meal each day and being looked in on by the delivery driver.

While Meals on Wheels is a very important community program, it is not the best fit for everyone. For one thing, you can't choose your menu so if you are a picky eater, you may not be happy with some of the meals. Also, you are limited to one meal each day so you must also find a way to get food for other meals and snacks.

There are other programs that provide senior prepared meals as well. These act independently from the community and you must pay for the food you select but if you are homebound these are the next best thing to going grocery shopping since you can choose the foods you like best and order as much as you want.

Having someone provide a nutritious meal every day is a big help to many seniors who might otherwise eat a poor diet and skip meals altogether. Nutrition is important to seniors in order to keep them from becoming frail and more susceptible to illness. Meals on Wheels provides a valuable service that helps keep seniors healthy and in their homes longer.