Meals on Wheels Western Michigan

Our mission is to keep seniors independent by addressing nutrition. According to Meals on Wheels America 1 in 6 seniors struggles with hunger. Proper nutrition is linked to many chronic diseases and in turn independence. We aim to keep people independent at home and reduce nursing home placements which is a more expense care environment.

We address nutrition and independence through four main services which are targeted on the amount of support and ability of a senior to care for themselves.
Congregate Meals:
Congregate meals help older adults maintain their independence by providing a well-balanced, nutritious meal each day and social engagement, which helps prevent the downward spiral of isolation. Dining sites, which are a shining piece of our program, help infuse happiness and social wellness into the older adults we serve.

Home Delivered Meals:
Home delivered meals help older adults maintain their independence in several ways. Well balanced, nutritious meals are provided based on an assessment of client's needs. Clients may receive up to 14 meals per week, based on their assessment of need. Our choice program allows them to select their meals from a menu which include low sodium, Vegetarian, Hispanic and Soul Food. For those who have cutting, chewing or swallowing difficulties, we offer cut meat, minced and moist, and pureed meals. We believe that it is very important for individuals who are losing their independence to have some choices in their lives and food is an essential piece.

An assessment, which is conducted every six months, identifies other needs they may have to allow appropriate referrals. Our assessors also assign a priority score, which indicates how much assistance may be needed if a client is not home for deliveries and whether a missed delivery is critical.

Our deliveries also help maintain independence. Our drivers provide a much-needed social connection and safety check. We are in fact, much more than a meal. Our drivers regularly report situations they may find with our clients. It is not uncommon to find a client who has fallen and needs help or a client who may be out of sorts. In some cases, we have even saved a life. We follow up on every concern reported by our drivers and this results in even more referrals for our clients. Additionally, when a client does not come to the door, we follow up to make sure they are safe. We start by calling the emergency contacts and may even call the police, depending on the client's priority score.

Senior Pantry
Services are provided for those who meet low income requirements and whose primary need is access to food. A wide variety of foods from all the food groups are provided for seniors who may shop up to twice per month. This is a very cost-effective way to ease the senior's financial pain. The inability to purchase medications is a very common and serious problem that leads to unnecessary hospitalizations and loss of independence.

Senior Project Fresh
This program is designed to increase fresh fruit and vegetable access which is the number one recommendation for chronic disease prevention. Coupons are provided for locally grown produce at local farmer markets. This is a benefit to farmers as well because seniors do not often shop alone.

We have a 17,000 square foot kitchen with excellent staff to handle the increasing need. We have been working to reduce our dependence on government funding by increasing our fundraising events, exploring private catering to produce revenue and other social enterprise endeavors. We are also exploring relationships in healthcare and hope to demonstrate our value in reducing hospital readmissions and hope to gain funding through those partnerships in the future. We are very forward thinking and strive for continuous improvement and new possibilities.

90% report their basic need for food is being met.
87% reported an increase in their consumption of fruits and vegetables.
87% report that their Meals on Wheels has helped them remain in their home.
90% of seniors report they like the taste of their meals.