What’s Going On At Meals on Wheels?
(2015, Committee Edition)
Talking points for conversations with volunteers, friends, family and others interested in Meals on Wheels /

A snapshot into our major program, home-delivered meals:

Serves Erie County / 25 local sites / 900,000+ meals / year / Since 1969
3,500 unique clients / yr / 2 meals a day (hot/cold) / Nearly 4,000 meals/day / Explosive growth/need
1,500 volunteers / Community support needed / No $ from MOWAA / Partial govt. funding

Mission: To enrich lives and to promote independent healthy living by offering
nutritious food and a friendly visit.

Southtowns – Beginning in January of 2014, MOW-WNY is now providing service to the areas formerly served by Southtowns MOW – Boston, Colden, Concord, Holland and Sardinia. This expansion of our services will ensure that seniors in need in the Southern Tier continue to receive two meals per day. Our focus has been on a seamless transition for clients, caregivers and volunteers.
Bateman Senior Meals – Beginning in December of 2013, MOW-WNY is now contracting food services with Bateman Senior Meals. Bateman specializes in senior nutrition and assists home-delivered and congregate dining programs across the nation. They are doing production for both the MOW home-delivered program and the Erie County Stay Fit Dining program (i.e., congregate dining), as well as other businesses that contract for food services, such as day cares, adult day cares, hospitals and schools.
Bulk and Unitized Meals – MOW-WNY has a 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art commissary with excess capacity. We are able to produce competitively priced meals – in bulk (tray) or unitized (individually packaged) fashion. We have high quality and follow rigorous safety and nutritional standards. This service is ideal for nursing homes, day care centers, hospitals and anyone in need of high-quality food in quantity. Contact Lucian Wiza () with your leads.
Hunger & Hope Tours –MOW-WNY is pursuing a new relationship building effort based on emotional connections with our mission. Twice a month, members of the Hunger & Hope team take 10 to 15 community members on a one-hour “Hunger & Hope Tour.” This emotional tour of our mission and partial tour of our facility is a wonderful way to connect people with just what we do and all of the hard work that goes into it every day. Tours are free and open to the public. Call Rachel or Lisa at 822-2002 to enroll in an upcoming date.
Congregate meals – For 2014, MOW-WNY once again holds the contract for food production (only) for Erie County’s Congregate (“Stay Fit”) dining program. This is a program through which mobile seniors are able to congregate at senior centers for nutritious meals. Through congregate, we produce an additional 1,200 meals per day (250,000+ meals per year).
Volunteers / Adopt-A-Route – We continue to have a desperate need for individual volunteers and groups of volunteers for meal delivery. We need both drivers and servers. It takes just about an hour a day and volunteers can deliver as frequently or infrequently as they wish. With 25 locations, it’s easy to find a site near anyone and the experience is deeply satisfying. Companies can Adopt-A-Route once a week for an even greater impact. Contact Lauren Gousy to learn more.
Getting Meals & Special Diets –

  • MOW-WNY provides home-delivered nutrition (and a daily well-being visit) to homebound seniors and disabled individuals throughout WNY. Meals are delicious and affordable. Meals are available for the over 60 population (over 60, unable to safely shop for and/or prepare meals) and under 60 population (severely handicapped or terminally ill) through our traditional programs, which are partially government funded. Meals are available to any member of the general public looking for homebound nutrition through our fee-for-service program.
  • Our registered dietitians work with each new client to get him or her on the correct, medically appropriate diet, with independent verification by the client’s doctor. Proper nutrition aids overall health and also helps keep recipients out of the hospital and assisted living facilities, saving money to the health care system overall. Meals on Wheels’ special diets are ideal for the common issues seniors face. Diets include: regular (low fat, low salt, low cholesterol), diabetic/calorie controlled, renal, bland and ground. Many clients credit Meals on Wheels’ food with improving their daily mood and lengthening their lives.

Refer people to MOW’s intake department for more information about the impact of proper nutrition.
Program Growth –Senior citizens are the fastest growing segment of the population in WNY with even higher growth in the 85+ population. As well, a focus on “aging in place” by health care reform will further increase the need for MOW-WNY services. In late 2012, MOW-WNY reached 25 million meals – making us the second largest MOW in the nation (out of 5,000+). In 2013, program growth stabilized but it is anticipated to once again rise in the coming years in response to demographic shifts.
Community Learning Center– We have a 2,400 square-foot meeting and event space equipped with a multimedia projector, 7’ x 9’ ceiling mounted screen, speaker system, podium and Levaliermic. The space seats up to 155 and includes two 72” round tables, 14 60” round tables, four 30” x 96” rectangular tables and straight-back chairs. The CLC has an attached kitchen for those wishing to bring in a caterer and is available for rent at highly competitive rates, including a not-for-profit rate. Contact Laura Monte.

“Myths” Busted –

  • MOW-WNY is just for the “poor” or those in the “city”: We reach homebound individuals of all socio-economic levels through our 25 sites (which stretch from Clarence in the north to Angola and Sardinia in the south).
  • MOW-WNY is “just food.” Our clients are homebound, so the daily companionship of a volunteer is just as crucial – often representing the only human contact all day.
  • “TV Dinners” – Some people think that MOW could be replaced with TV dinners or take-out. This isn’t so. The hot lunch and cold dinner are nutritionally balanced and provide 2/3 of recommended daily nutrients. All meals are low fat, low salt, low cholesterol. Medically appropriate meal options are available as well – such as calorie controlled / diabetic, renal, ground and bland.

Facebook: Meals on Wheels for WNY Twitter: @mealswheelswny 822-2002