Meals on Wheels for WNY Information

Since its founding in 1969, the Meals on Wheels for WNY mission has been focused on the most basic, most critical of needs for the vulnerable homebound. Meals on Wheels staff and volunteers are committed to enriching lives and promoting independent healthy living by offering nutritious food and a friendly visit. Our vision is to ensure that every member of our community will receive a meal that meets their nutritional needs. We are an independent not-for-profit agency with delivery sites across WNY from Clarence in the north to Sardinia and Angola in the south. We serve approximately 3,600 homebound seniors each year. This task is primarily carried out by our 1,600 amazing volunteers.Meals on Wheels volunteers, who visit with homebound seniors and disabled individuals each day, serve as a critical link between clients and their families, loved ones and neighbors. All volunteers are trained to watch out for troubling developments in the home—a recipient who seems out of sorts or ill, an unsafe condition in the house (such as debris or temperature issues), etc.—and follow specific instructions for reporting such concerns. This safety check provides peace of mind to clients and caregivers alike.Perhaps even more critical than the nutritious food and safety check is the sense of caring and companionship that volunteers bring to clients’ lives. For many of the homebound clients Meals on Wheels serves, human contact, conversations and laughs may be all too infrequent. In fact, some clients do not interact with anyone other than their volunteers all week, all month or even all year. The importance of the daily visit is, quite simply, immeasurable.