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These five pulse surveys, conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022, provide snapshots of how local Meals on Wheels providers were impacted and how they adapted to rapidly changing circumstances.
April 2020
This pulse survey found that nearly all surveyed Meals on Wheels providers were experiencing increased demand, with 4 in 5 providers reporting that new meal requests had doubled since March 1, 2020, when concerns over COVID-19 and social distancing measures began taking hold. This survey was conducted between April 22 and 28, 2020.
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July 2020
This pulse survey found that nearly all local Meals on Wheels providers were experiencing increased costs while maintaining critical service to more seniors than before the pandemic hit in March 2020. This research was conducted three months after Meals on Wheels America’s initial pulse survey and revealed that providers were serving an average of 77% more meals and 47% more seniors than they were March 1, 2020, indicating a sustained increase in the need for meals and a continuing upward trajectory of senior client growth nationwide.
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July 2021
This pulse survey revealed that providers were still serving, on average, 57% more home-delivered meals and serving home-delivered meals to 44% more clients than before the pandemic began. More than 4 in 5 providers had also received federal emergency grants of some kind (e.g., through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; Families First Coronavirus Response Act funding; etc.), and nearly half said they would not be able to support their current client base without continued infusions of cash beyond their typical reimbursements and contracts.
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April 2022
More than two years into the pandemic, Meals on Wheels America conducted another pulse survey among local providers to monitor demand for Meals on Wheels-related services and other changes local providers had been facing. This survey uncovered the fact that 8 out of 10 providers were still serving more home-delivered meals AND had more home-delivered meal clients than they did before the pandemic. Providers were also facing a number of ongoing operations challenges, including rising food and gas prices, supply chain issues and staff retention.
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November 2022
Our final pandemic era Pulse Survey, fielded Oct. 18–Nov. 7, 2022, gave us a snapshot of what local providers were facing amid the continued impacts of the pandemic, historic inflation, supply chain disruptions, staffing issues and more. Most notably, it found that 4 out of 5 providers (79%) were still delivering meals to more clients than before March 2020, and 3 out of 4 providers (77%) saw the all-in cost of a home-delivered meal increase in 2022, with over half seeing increases of 10% of more.
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Meals on Wheels America continues to conduct regular surveys of local providers in its Membership.
