The Kindness of Joe Young
Joe Young, a dedicated Meals on Wheels volunteer, embodies a quiet strength as he navigates his kitchen duties and client visits with purposeful dedication. With a background ...
251M meals served annually
2M+ seniors served annually
360,000 veterans served annually
Delivering Healthy Meals: The Foundation of the Meals on Wheels Network
The Meals on Wheels network is able to serve millions of meals annually to seniors. This ensures that our aging neighbors receive good, nutritious meals, supporting the energy and health they need to remain independent. This foundational part of the work moves us toward our vision of an America in which all seniors live nourished lives with independence and dignity.
Thanks to Meals on Wheels, I get a good, hot meal every day.Meals on Wheels client
Impact For Home-Delivered Meal Participants
79% say Meals on Wheels helps them improve their health
84% say Meals on Wheels helps them feel more secure
91% say Meals on Wheels helps them live independently
Citations for statistics:3
Helping America’s Seniors: Vital Services, Proven Outcomes
Meals on Wheels provides more than just meals. The delivery of a nutritious meal gives the local provider the opportunity to build a relationship with the clients they serve and identify other ways to help seniors stay independent and improve their health and well-being.
We know this works because we have strong research to back it up.
Our research is a key part of our strategy. It helps guide the work we do, strengthens the field of senior nutrition providers and supports decision-makers with important information to make smart, well-informed choices. By understanding the needs of local providers and the seniors they serve, our research also allows us to improve ways of working to better support the Meals on Wheels network.
View Our ResearchI’m talking from my heart. I love this program. It makes me feel alive, like someone cares. And I know I’m not the only lonely senior.Meals on Wheels client
Making a Difference One Senior at a Time
Gundy
As the nation's oldest Girl Scout, Lenore "Gundy" Costello's legacy continues to inspire and empower young women worldwide. Their remarkable journey embodies resilience, leade...
With These Hands
Volunteer, Melanie Nelson, helps deliver meals to seniors, especially during disasters like hurricanes. Volunteers work tirelessly to ensure food reaches those in need.
The [Sign] Language of Kindness
Debbie is an inspiring Meals on Wheels volunteer with a very special story. When Dennis, a client who is deaf, lost the ability to read lips during the pandemic, Debbie leaped...
National Support, Local Impact
$4.9M in grants and funding to local providers
61K messages sent to Congress
35K pledges to End the Wait
Supporting Local Providers
Each year, Meals on Wheels America sends funding directly to local providers, enhancing their incredible, lifesaving work. Our grants and funding strengthen communities, expand services and help seniors live healthier, more independent lives — one meal and one moment of connection at a time.
Advocating for Seniors
Our role is to empower local providers, and that means advocating for funding and policy changes that matter. It also means raising awareness and building champions for older adults. We find ways to leverage our national brand and partnerships to do just that. By engaging celebrities and policymakers, we ensure seniors’ needs are not forgotten. This brings more attention, funding and help to local providers, making the whole network stronger.
Whether creating campaigns that drive change or contacting elected officials directly, we do everything in our power to make Americans keep seniors top of mind.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ADVOCACY WORK
Strategic Plan to End the Wait™
Currently, 1 in 3 Meals on Wheels providers has a waitlist, with an average wait time of four months — and in some areas, it’s nearly two years.
This wait is unacceptable.
With our bold new strategic plan to tackle this issue head-on, our ultimate goal is to eliminate all waitlists and ensure that every senior who needs Meals on Wheels gets it.
Corporate Partners
Partner With Us
We work with companies to create partnerships that create lasting change in communities across the country.
By partnering with Meals on Wheels America, companies and brands can reach important business and social impact goals while ensuring America’s seniors are not forgotten.
Help Us End the Wait™
Your support can help End the Wait and provide life-changing services to seniors in your community. Together, we can ensure every senior has access to nutrition and meaningful connections.
Citations
- “251 million meals served annually” and “2.2 million seniors served annually” are from Administration for Community Living (ACL) data tables. Meals data are from “Table 4a. Service Units Provided Under OAA Title III by Clusters 1 and 2 Services” and seniors data are from “Table 1. Persons Served Under OAA Title III – Estimated Unduplicated Count (Clusters 1-3)”. Data include home-delivered meals and congregate meals served by programs that receive funding from Title III of the Older Americans Act. Data are for federal fiscal year 2021. Release date 6/6/2023. Data tables available on the AGing, Independence, and Disability (AGID) Program Portal at https://agid.acl.gov/
- 360,000 Veterans served annual: Cited from Administration on Aging. 2022 National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants data tables. Retrieved from https://agid.acl.gov/ Veterans served via OAA Title III funded nutrition programs in 2022: Home-delivered meals participants: 17% were veterans (254,575) (1 in 6) Congregate meals participants: 17% were veterans (105,359) Total Veterans served home-delivered + congregate meals: 359,934.
- Home-delivered Meal Participants: Cited from 2023 Administration for Community Living (ACL) National Survey of Older Americans Act (OAA) Participants. Figures are from the responses of a nationally representative sample of clients receiving Home-delivered meals funded through Title III of the OAA. Data obtained through special ACL request.
