Monroe County Meals on Wheels, Inc.
Feeding our community's homebound since 1972
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Per United Way of Monroe County, 12.4% of our citizens suffer from food insecurity. Food insecurity often leads to poor health outcomes, including higher rates of heart disease, poor gum health, limitations in daily living activities, and depression - conditions which can lead to more medical visits, hospitalizations, and premature moves to costly skilled nursing facilities. Enhanced access to food is needed most by fail older adults and persons with disabilities with limited to moderate incomes. Delivering meals to these individuals ensures they have daily access to at least two nutritious meals a day. The volunteer visit they receive at the same time as delivery helps them remain in their homes, safe and independent.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Nutrition Support
Providing quality meals and nutrition services to as many vulnerable and needy people as possible in the most efficient and effective manner. We offer a choice of a once-a-week delivery of frozen meals, fresh fruit, bread, and beverage; or daily hot and cold meals. Our menus are formulated by a registered dietician and meet the guidelines for senior nutrition in Pennsylvania.
Pet Food
We consider pets an important part of our clients' lives. We assist them in being able to keep their pets by providing several weeks of food to our clients on a monthly basis, depending on donations and other resources. As granting permits, we also provide vouchers to local veterinary clinics for wellness checks, immunizations, nail trimming, etc.
Oral Hygiene
We provide all clients with oral hygiene education, designed by a local dentist, as well as oral hygiene products for both natural teeth and dentures.
Client Needs Pantry
This pantry is for items such as paper products, toiletries, cleaning supplies, clothing, durable medical equipment, and other non-food items.
Home Repair
We provide minor home repair services, such as replacing locks, repairing broken steps and railings, etc., and refer major repairs to other agencies who specialize in those types of repairs.
Pantry Boxes
In partnership with Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network (PVEN), our clients receive once-a-month delivery of a pantry box of fresh meats, produce and canned goods, to help supplement their home-delivered meals. Currently this is only available to our clients within zip codes served by PVEN, but we intend to develop partnerships with other food pantries throughout the county to run a similar program.
Where we work
Awards
Bizzy Award - Best Non-Profit 2019
Pocono Chamber of Commerce
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, People with disabilities
Related Program
Nutrition Support
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Prior to 2018, only served home-delivered meals. Began serving congregate meals to 4 of the 5 county senior centers in August 2018.
Number of emergency meals provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, People with disabilities
Related Program
Nutrition Support
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
In 2020, clients had to opt-in to this program in order to reduce food waste. Severity of weather affects the number of bags issued.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors
Related Program
Nutrition Support
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of meals delivered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, People with disabilities
Related Program
Nutrition Support
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of meals vary from year to year based on growth of private pay client base and waiting lists from our Area Agency on Aging.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
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, and a minor home repair program.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our meals come from Meals on Wheels of NEPA, who follow 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 nearly 200 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.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
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. 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 Assistant Director - Operations assists the case manager with clients services, but also manages routes, coordinates meal orders, performs billing, and is the liaison for Community Health Choices . 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.
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.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
During 2020, our program went from serving approximately 180 individuals a week to nearly 375. This includes congregate participants who either receive grab-and-go meals or a cold bagged lunch at one of the four centers open at this time. We implemented case management services to private clients, added veterinary care to the pet program, expanded the amount of pet food to be delivered, obtained two agency vehicles to relieve the burden on employees' vehicles if they have to fill in for a volunteer, added a telephone buddy program, and provided internship opportunities to public health students at East Stroudsburg University. We have also started a pantry box program with a local food pantry which we hope to expand across the county. This program extended not only our outreach to a specific community, but it also helped extend the outreach of the pantry.
We are active participants of the Pocono Mountains Hunger Coalition. Among the coalition's goals is to start a community kitchen which will also prepare our meals. Currently our meals are prepared out-of-county and trucked in. Having our meals made locally will keep the county funds within the county; provide some local jobs; allow us to incorporate produce from our local farmers; and allow Monroe County Meals on Wheels to have full control over diets and menus thereby allowing us to respond better to client's preferences.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Adult individuals who are homebound due to advanced age or disability that prevent them from shopping and/or preparing meals for themselves. Clients range in age from 17 to over 100 years of age.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
During the pandemic, it became apparent that clients had more needs than just meals. We would receive phone calls asking for non-food items. A survey was sent out to determine categories of needs, including home repair. We have established a client pantry for these non-food needs and have begun a minor home repair program, with larger repairs being referred out to other agencies. This winter season, we also added some client choice to our emergency food bags including chicken or tuna, dried milk or additional juice, and sugar-free pudding or jello.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
Clients understand that we are concerned about their overall well-being, not just their nutrition. They also know that to the extent we are able to because of kitchen capacity or state nutritional guidelines, we will incorporate their preferences into their meals. It is a partnership in helping our clients achieve safety and independence in their homes.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Monroe County Meals on Wheels, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 5/2/2022
Mrs. Cindy DeLuca
Retired
Cindy Deluca
Retired librarian, Barrett Paradise Friendly Library
John Barnak
Baxter Real Estate
Sarah Wallace
ESSA Bank
Lisa Cardwell
Morgan Stanley
Diane Dagger
Self-employed attorney
Michael Peterson
Owner, State Farm agency
Paul Schmid
Retired, Food Svc Director East Stroudsburg School District
Kelli Pisciotti
Retired, graphic designer
TJ Price
Realtor, MORE Modern Real Estate
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/19/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.