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Most congregate senior meal programs are open to all elderly in the community served by the program some also provide transportation to and from their location. Congregate senior meal programsĬongregate senior meal programs (sometimes called congregate dining) are hot-lunch programs for seniors who are ambulatory (able to walk and move around) and who can get to the community center, church or synagogue, adult day-care center, senior center, or other location where the meal is served. There are also a few Meals on Wheels programs in the larger cities that offer kosher meals for Jewish seniors.

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Many local programs also train their drivers to be alert for signs of health or safety problems in the senior's house. In many areas, Meals on Wheels drivers are recent retirees who can take the time to chat for a few minutes with the senior as well as drop off the hot lunch and brown-bag supper (a few programs offer deep-frozen meals as an option). Meals are delivered to home of seniors by a driver, who may be either paid or a volunteer.

As MOWAA notes on its Web site, the rapidly growing senior population in North America means that Meals on Wheels programs in some large cities have waiting lists.

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To receive Meals on Wheels, the senior (or family member) should call the closest regional group and ask about eligibility (seniors must be 60 years of age or older to be eligible for federally funded meal delivery programs) cost (some programs charge between $2 and $5 per meal some are free and federally funded programs may only ask for a voluntary contribution) and whether there is a waiting list. Its official (trademarked) motto is:“So No Senior Goes Hungry.” How it works As of early 2008, MOWAA worked with 78 different regional Meals on Wheels programs in Canada and the United States and held an annual conference on senior nutrition. The Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) is a national umbrella organization that assists local programs in meeting the specific needs of their communities, which vary considerably in terms of demographics, geographical area covered, climate, and other factors. Some are funded by religious groups or other charitable organizations some programs in the United States receive funding from the federal government. They vary widely in size, services provided, method of operation, and funding. By 1955, the Philadelphia Meals on Wheels program was introduced in Columbus, Ohio, and Rochester, New York it then spread rapidly across the United States and Canada.Īs of 2008, Meals on Wheels programs in both countries are still financed and operated at the local level. The fee was intended to maintain the seniors' sense of dignity as well as to partially defray the expenses of the program.

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The first Meals on Wheels program charged 40 to 80 cents per day (according to ability to pay) for the meals, which consisted of a hot lunch plus a serving of milk, a sandwich, and a side dish to be eaten as a cold supper in the evening. As is the case in the late 2000s, the seniors who were served in the 1950s did not require hospitalization or skilled nursing care, but only some help with meal preparation in order to maintain their independence. The program was so successful that Margaret Toy, a social worker in Philadelphia's Lighthouse Community Center, asked a local foundation for a grant to extend the program across the city. They also took refreshments to servicemen in canteens during the war it was from these canteens that the term “Meals on Wheels” originated.Īfter the war ended, a group of people in Philadelphia experimented with a home-delivered meal service for seven seniors in January 1954. The Women's Volunteer Service for Civil Defense responded to the needs of those who could no longer cook for themselves by preparing and delivering meals. Meals on Wheels began in the United Kingdom during World War II when many civilians were displaced by the German Luftwaffe's bombing of London and other large cities in southern England. Many are actually called Meals on Wheels, but the name has become a generic term for other home-delivered meal programs for seniors. Meals on Wheels is the name of community programs that deliver meals to homebound seniors.