Monroe County Meals on Wheels, Inc.

Monroe County Meals on Wheels plans to provide superior nutritional support to any adult individual in Monroe County who is unable to shop and/or prepare meals for themselves, due to physical or mental disability, thus allowing them to remain safe and independent in their homes. We receive the majority of our referrals through our county Area Agency on Aging; however, we have a sizeable private client base. While their meals are priced on a sliding scale, no one is denied meals because of an inability to pay. With government dollars stretched thin and the size of the older adult population growing in our county, we aim to address the needs of the whole person. Through case management, including a psycho-social assessment, a home safety inspection, and other assessments, we assist our private clients with their needs outside of nutritional support. To combat social isolation, we have a telephone buddy program. Our pet program provides pet food, cat litter, and other tangible pet needs on a monthly basis. Grants have allowed us to expand this program to include wellness checks and immunizations. In 2020, we launched an oral hygiene program since oral health is closely tied to an individual's ability to eat wholesome food. We also began a client needs pantry for non-food items.

Our meals come from Meals on Wheels of NEPA, which follows state nutritional guidelines for older adults. Their driver transports the meals to our office in special containers that maintain heat and cold. Due to COVID, we pivoted to a primarily frozen meal program in which clients receive their week of frozen meals in one delivery. This also includes fresh fruit, bread, and beverages. Those who do not have the capacity to manage frozen meals still receive a daily hot and cold meal. Currently we deliver throughout Monroe County.

Our volunteers, who deliver using their own cars without any compensation, are the backbone of our delivery service. We rely on more than 230 volunteers to help up deliver meals over 19 routes in our mostly rural county. They arrive at our office, we load up the containers, and off they go to deliver the meals with a smile and a friendly word for the clients. When they return, they let us know if a client is not feeling well, doesn't look right, has someone new living with them, needs assistance with some other need, etc. Our volunteers are the "eyes and ears" for us, the clients' families, and the Monroe County Area Agency on Aging.

In the last few years, we noted our private pay clients had more and more needs not being met outside of meals. Unlike the Area Agency on Aging clients who have built-in case management, our clients had only been receiving nutritional support from us. With a case manager, we are now able to provide services similar to the Area Agency on Aging in terms of assessing our clients' multiple needs and coordinating with their families to procure needed services. The case manager constantly assesses client needs to develop in-house programs or to seek appropriate referrals to other agencies.

Our agency runs efficiently with minimal staff. The Executive Director primarily manages the finances, performs development functions, and executes the strategy set forth by the volunteer board, while also managing routes and coordinating meal orders. Our Case Manager evaluates all private pay clients, assists our county Area Agency on Aging with their referrals, and manages auxiliary programming. The Volunteer Manager recruits and schedules volunteers. Our Special Events Coordinator runs our pet program. She also works with the board to promote and execute fundraising events, as well as community events to promote our services and to educate the public about the needs of homebound individuals. Our Communications Coordinator manages our social media presence and external communications.

We work closely with Meals on Wheels of NEPA to develop menus that are appealing and nutritious for our clients. The kitchen also responds positively to clients' concerns and requests.

Our agency has a reliable volunteer pool managed by a manager who is very in tune with the volunteers in terms of scheduling appropriate routes. Routes are designed to promote volunteer and food safety, as well as to make the process as efficient as possible for the volunteer.

All of our clients receive some subsidy towards the cost of their meals - even the Area Agency on Aging clients. To help fund the difference, we rely on individual donations, which we solicit through two appeals a year. We also receive grants and hold one fundraising event. We also participate in other organizations' events in which we are the recipient of donations.

During 2022, our program celebrated our 50th anniversary. We served more than 250 individuals a week, not including congregate participants, who receive meals at one of four area senior centers. We also grew our client needs pantry program and our pet program, and provided internship opportunities to students at East Stroudsburg University and Northampton Community College. We also continue to run a pantry box program with a local food pantry, delivering pantry items to clients who are unable to get to the food pantry.