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Programs & Impact

Meals on Wheels Programs & Impact
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Nutrition

Thanks to our meals, 80% of participants have moved toward or maintained a healthy weight since enrolling.

Meal delivery includes a hot lunch and chilled dinner that provide two-thirds of the recommended daily allowance, with each MOWC participant receiving ten meals per week.  Food-insecure participants receive extra meals, when available, for the weekends, packaged fresh from hot meal leftovers. On weekdays, each participant receives:

  • Four to six ounces of protein
  • Four servings of grains
  • Six servings of fruit and vegetables
  • Two servings of dairy
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Our four-week menu is updated seasonally, informed by participant feedback, and dietician-approved for diabetics and cardiacs. We limit sodium, sugar, and fats. Meals are prepared by ServSafe-certified cooks in a commercial kitchen at Chesapeake Regional Healthcare.

We provide medically tailored meals for diabetic, cardiac, and renal patients, as well as a mechanical soft texture option. We also accommodate no pork/no ham diets. Milk alternatives, Lactaid and almond milk, are offered.

Community partner Buffalow Family Friends Community Days provides additional nutrition programming at Thanksgiving, cooking and packaging over a thousand Thanksgiving dinners since 2020 for isolated participants.

97% report eating healthier since enrollment.

Get Meals
Safety and wellness check on participants

Safety

With meal delivery, volunteers are trained to perform a wellness check on participants. They make sure that each participant or a caregiver answers the door to receive their meals. If no one answers the door or phone, the volunteer then calls the office to alert staff, who call and work with emergency contacts to ensure the participant’s safety and make a plan for meal delivery. With those we serve at higher risk for falls and hospitalization, we take safety checks seriously, and follow up on each one to make sure that participants are not ill or injured in their home.
87% report that the wellness check makes them feel safer, and enhances their ability to age in place.

Social Connection

Did you know that social isolation is just as deadly as obesity or smoking? 38% of participants are significantly isolated, and would see no one for a week or more if not for our delivery volunteers.

Friendly volunteers deliver social connection with the meals and safety checks. Additional connection programs include

, our home-delivered pet food/supplies and veterinary care programming, started in 2022 with generous funding from Meals on Wheels America and PetSmart. In 2022, we started dropping off monthly deliveries of pet food, cat litter, puppy pads, and other supplies at pet households. In 2023, a new partnership with local mobile veterinary service Golden Paws House Calls was established to deliver quality, compassionate vet care to participants’ homes. 65% of MOWC pets live in income-limited and low-income households, and 80% of pets haven’t seen a veterinarian in over two years. Pets provide essential companionship and help to relieve feelings of isolation and loneliness in participants. In 2023, we delivered 2,731 pounds of pet food and supplies to households with pets.

Social Connection programs for older adults
Birthday Celebrations of older adults

, including birthday gifts for every participant on their special day, with volunteers or staff singing Happy Birthday. The gifts are a mix of beautiful handmade items donated by a quilting group and talented volunteers, and in-kind donations from our wish list, which includes fun, decorative, in-home safety, and basic need items like toiletries and paper goods. We deliver about twenty gifts per month, or about 240 per year!

, when participants are hospitalized, along with the delivery of a Feel Better bag with a handmade lap quilt and other items like chapstick, puzzle books, and travel size toiletries to make their stay easier and help them pass the time.

The cumulative impact of these social connection programs is that 86% of participants report increased well-being since enrolling in MOWC, and 79% of participants report decreased loneliness since enrollment.

Social connection programs rely on donor support to continue. To help, purchase items from our Amazon wish list.

WISH LIST

Or you may drop off needed items at our office, at 736 Battlefield Blvd North, Chesapeake, VA 23320. Please call our office to schedule a drop-off, at 757-312-6458.

Social connection programs
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Care Coordination & Resources

Recognizing that participants are often isolated without adequate help or support, we have a master list of community resources, which we turn to when participants, loved ones, or caring volunteers report additional needs. Staff coordinates care, utilizing referral networks, directories, and relationships with community partners to connect participants to resources. New enrollees receive a Chesapeake Resource Guide loaded with contact information for helpful agencies in Chesapeake.

Referring agencies include Chesapeake Regional, Chesapeake Mobile Integrated Healthcare, Chesapeake Human Services, and Comfort Care. We are a network provider for Unite Us and Virginia 2-1-1.

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