Meals on Wheels is a community program that delivers hot meals to people who are unable to leave their homes to shop for food or are unable to prepare their own meals. Most of these people are over age 60. This service provides them with nutritionally balanced meals on a regular basis. Some programs can provide special diets, such as low-salt or diabetic diets. Usually, the program delivers the noon meal, Monday through Friday.
Some programs also deliver extra cold food that can be eaten as the evening meal.
A person can get meals 1 to 5 days per week. Each agency determines its schedule, menus, charges, and policies. An agency staff member will determine if the person qualifies as being home- bound. This means that the person has great difficulty leaving home due to poor health or other limitations. Volunteers deliver the meals.