United Kingdom
In the county of Suffolk, the programme is referred to as "Community Meals".[27] "Meals on Wheels" services are provided for those who have been assessed to have difficulty cooking for themselves. Community Meals services can comprise daily hot meals, chilled meals or a weekly or fortnightly delivery of frozen meals. Traditional hot deliveries are cooked in a central kitchen then transported to the service user. The service in Suffolk is now run by Aspect Living Foundation, a not-for-profit charity trading as Meals on Wheels Suffolk, set up and registered in 2018 to take over "Meals on Wheels" from the Royal Voluntary Service, and set up specifically for this purpose.
Support to the elderly is also provided by the Royal Voluntary Service (formerly named Women's Royal Voluntary Service).
National Association of Care Catering Community Meals Week is a national event aiming to increase visibility of Community Meals Services.[28] In October 2008, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall assisted in Meals on Wheels Week activities.[29]
Increasingly in the United Kingdom, commercial rather than voluntary or local authorities organisations are providing the meals. For example, some Local Authorities have stopped providing hot meals and are instead delivering frozen pre-cooked meals.[30] Other variations include using Apetito, who operate a "Chefmobil"[31] service which regenerates meals en route,[32] and Apetito subsidiary Wiltshire Farm Foods, which operates a Meals on Wheels alternative service for those who do not meet assessment criteria.[33] In 2018, Meals On Wheels was completely withdrawn in the United Kingdom. Wiltshire Farms frozen meals and private hot meal schemes largely on a commercial basis do however remain.
Wolverhampton Council took a different approach: instead of closing the service, it has been expanded so anyone living in the city can order meals on wheels. People may opt to receive a meal one day a week, every day or for a fixed length of time e.g. after an operation. Alongside the hot meal a cold 'tea' consisting of a sandwich and fruit can be delivered.
October 2011 saw a Hairy Bikers series, Meals on Wheels, air on BBC Two. The series fronted a campaign with BBC Learning to save local 'meals on wheels' services around the United Kingdom.[34]
Canada
Halifax Meals on Wheels in Nova Scotia currently operate 68 programmes across the province; more than 600 volunteers serve an estimated 3400 meals a week. In Halifax, the service is partially funded by the municipality. The United Way also provides funding, depending on how much the programmes need. Organizations such as nursing homes and hospitals provide many of the meals; others come from restaurants and private homes. The programme isn't just for the elderly; people of any age who live alone often call when they're recovering after a recent hospital stay and are unable to cook for themselves. Other users of Meals on Wheels are people with disabilities such as multiple sclerosis who use the programme to help them through a rough time when cooking becomes too difficult. In 1996, 56.7% of clients in Halifax used the service for less than three months.[35]
In 2020, Halal Meals on Wheels was created by East York Meals on Wheels, an independent charity, as a response to providing culturally appropriate meals to Toronto's East York community. This program was funded by the United Way of Greater Toronto, and has gained traction across the city's east-end.[36]
There are dozens of independent meals on wheels in Montreal, one of the largest and most innovative is the unique intergenerational Santropol Roulant, an organisation operated mainly by young volunteers in central Montreal neighbourhoods. Deliveries are done on foot, by bicycle and by hybrid car in some outlying routes.[37]
Ireland
Longford
Currently (2016) vans are still used to deliver meals around Longford by County Longford Social Services, a registered charity - 4 vans deliver to all areas of County Longford, but the meals are now hot soup and chilled main course and dessert - recipients have microwave ovens for reheating the dinners. Meals are provided 7 days per week, 365 days per year.
Other areas
A study by Trinity College Dublin[38] published in 2008 on behalf of the National Council on Ageing and Older People found most of Ireland served by Meals on Wheels services (or centre-based alternatives) since the 1980s, over half being registered charities. Half of the services are noted to be parish-only, with many more serving a slightly larger area: the report notes only 5% of providers serve "a significant proportion of their county" (but they do not mention the longest-running service in Longford, which serves the whole county).
Longford
Currently (2016) vans are still used to deliver meals around Longford by County Longford Social Services, a registered charity - 4 vans deliver to all areas of County Longford, but the meals are now hot soup and chilled main course and dessert - recipients have microwave ovens for reheating the dinners. Meals are provided 7 days per week, 365 days per year.
Other areas
A study by Trinity College Dublin[38] published in 2008 on behalf of the National Council on Ageing and Older People found most of Ireland served by Meals on Wheels services (or centre-based alternatives) since the 1980s, over half being registered charities. Half of the services are noted to be parish-only, with many more serving a slightly larger area: the report notes only 5% of providers serve "a significant proportion of their county" (but they do not mention the longest-running service in Longford, which serves the whole county).
United States
The first such program in the United States was started by social worker Margaret Toy in 1954 at the request of the Philadelphia Health & Welfare Council. It was funded by the Henrietta Tower Wurtz Foundation.[39]
The Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. MOWAA is the oldest and largest organization in the United States representing those who provide meal services to seniors in need, specifically those at risk of or experiencing hunger. MOWAA is a nonprofit organization working toward the social, physical, nutritional and economic betterment of vulnerable Americans by providing the tools and information its programmes need to make a difference in the lives of others.[26] In 2016, Meals on Wheels provided approximately 218 million meals to 2.5 million Americans.[40][41] The annual meal cost is $2,765 per recipient.[42] Approximately 500,000 of the recipients are veterans.
MOWAAF study on hunger
The Meals On Wheels Association of America Foundation (MOWAAF),[45] recognizing that hunger is a serious threat facing millions of seniors in the United States, determined that understanding of the problem is a critical first step to developing remedies.[46] In 2007, MOWAAF, underwritten by the Harrah's Foundation, commissioned a research study entitled The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America.[47] The report was released at a hearing of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging in March 2008 in Washington, D.C.
The study found that in the United States, over 5 million seniors, (11.4% of all seniors), experience some form of food insecurity, i.e. were marginally food insecure. Of these, about 2.5 million are at-risk of hunger, and about 750,000 suffer from hunger due to financial constraints. Some groups of seniors are more likely to be at-risk of hunger. Relative to their representation in the overall senior population, those with limited incomes, under age 70, African Americans, Hispanics, never-married individuals, renters, and persons living in the southern United States are all more likely to be at-risk of hunger. While certain groups of seniors are at greater-risk of hunger, hunger cuts across the income spectrum. For example, over 50% of all seniors who are at-risk of hunger have incomes above the
2017 proposed budget cuts
In March 2017, President Donald Trump's proposed budget would make cuts to block grants that go towards spending on Meals on Wheels.[41] Defending these cuts, director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney said that "Meals on Wheels sounds great" but that the program is one of many that is "just not showing any results."[49][41]
