Key Initiatives, Projects and Grants

The Pledge

A groundbreaking research study found that as of 2007, there were nearly 6 million seniors facing the threat of hunger. Our goal is to match that number – with 6 million people who are willing to stand up and take the Pledge to end senior hunger in America by the year 2020.

March For Meals & Mayors For Meals

March For Meals is an annual national campaign, held in March of every year, and designed to increase public awareness, recruit new volunteers and increase funding for Members of the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) Member local Senior Nutrition Programs.

Meals for Moms

All moms deserve to feel special on Mother's Day. Starting in 2010, Meals On Wheels began its Meals for Moms campaign by collecting e-cards and greeting cards for homebound senior moms which were printed out and distributed by Meals On Wheels programs across the country. The cards included special messages written by the card creators. In 2011, the second year of the campaign, more than 60,000 messages of hope were delivered to homebound senior moms  who depend on Meals On Wheels to survive.

The Rural Initiative

While Senior Nutrition Programs across the United States share problems common to all of them—such as a growing aging population and limited resources—Senior Nutrition Programs in rural areas face unique challenges such as time, distance, cost and labor.

We Are Meals On Wheels Project

MOWAA received a large donation of $5 million from the Walmart Foundation in the fall of 2010 for the We are Meals On Wheels Project. The We are Meals On Wheels Project consists of four major components: (1) Walmart Foundation - MOWAA Building the Future Grants Program, (2) We are Meals On Wheels National Mutli-Media Public Awareness Campaign, (3) Walmart Foundation Institute for Senior Nutrition Education, and (4) MOWAA State-Affiliate Training Wheels Program.

Emergency Preparedness

Being prepared to respond to and recover from an emergency is one of the best ways we have of ensuring the safety of the many homebound seniors being served by Meals On Wheels programs across the country. The MOWAA Emergency Preparedness (EP) Standards and Implementation Guidelines—developed to help senior nutrition providers become better prepared to respond and recover from emergencies that have the potential to disrupt the vital services they provide—are a simple, yet powerful tool senior nutrition providers can use in their emergency planning efforts.

The Jack and Eleanor Borden Kosher Meal Fund

The Jack and Eleanor Borden Kosher Meal Fund awards grants each year to Meals On Wheels programs that desire to begin or expand a kosher meal program (home-delivered or congregate). It was established by Enid Borden, President and CEO of the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), in honor of her deceased parents.

Health Literacy

A project designed to help homebound seniors better understand health information, so that they can make more informed decisions about the health care they receive.

Food Safety

MOWAA has joined with Rutgers University and the University of Maryland to improve food safety practices among both MOW programs and homebound seniors.

FeelGoodFood

FeelGoodFood is a major initiative of MOWAA through which we work with local Meals On Wheels programs and sponsoring insurance or hospital organizations to provide home-delivered meals and telephone reassurance contacts to seniors upon their discharge from hospitals and other inpatient facilities, helping to substantially reduce post-discharge readmissions and other healthcare costs.