Meals On Wheels, Inc. of Tarrant County continues to grow as the population ages, and a recent trend analysis shows projections of 51% growth by the year 2020 and 75% by 2030.  Additionally, the current economic climate has caused an increase in the number of people reaching out to us for help.  Our goals for this fiscal year are to:

• Prepare and deliver 1 million nutritious meals to eligible participants.
• Provide 12,000 in-home case management visits to ensure the health and safety of our clients.
• Recruit, train, and retain the volunteers necessary to staff 45 meal-distribution sites and 205 routes each Monday through Friday.
• Secure adequate funding so that no one is placed on a waiting list for meals.

Strategy for Achieving Our Goals

• Prepare and deliver 1 million nutritious meals to eligible participants.
  • Menus are developed by a licensed, registered dietitian and approved by our Nutrition Committee, which is composed of community volunteers and board members.
  • Menus are developed to ensure quality products, colorful appearance, and client preferences.
  • Staff and volunteers follow defined procedures to ensure seamless delivery from the food production facility to the client's table.
• Provide 12,000 in-home case management visits to ensure the health and safety of our clients.
  • Case managers see all clients before placing them on the home-delivered meals program.
  • Case managers make follow-up visits at least every three months to reassess the client's need for home-delivered meals and other services.
  • Volunteers help in this process by alerting staff when changes occur in a client's health or home status.
• Recruit, train, and retain the volunteers necessary to staff 44+ meal-distribution sites and 200+ routes each Monday through Friday.
  • Volunteer recruiters and community volunteers work diligently to secure opportunities to speak about or display our mission.
  • New volunteers must pass a background check and complete orientation and training before delivering meals.
  • Volunteer councils plan recognition events on an ongoing basis.
• Secure adequate funding so that no one is placed on a waiting list for meals.
  • Staff closely monitors all current grants and searches for new grant opportunities.
  • Volunteers and staff plan and execute special events to raise funds and awareness.
  • Direct mail, newsletters, e-news, and e-mail blasts keep donors informed about how their donations are being used and work to acquire additional donations.

Capacity for Acheiving Our Goals

We have delivered meals to our clients since 1973.  Our executive director has been with our organization for 36 years, our director of volunteers 31 years, our director of development 28 years, our director of case management 13 years, and our director of nutrition five years.  This team takes an active role in local, state, and national research to determine the severity and impact of hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity among Tarrant County residents and to find and implement cost-effective solutions to meal preparation and delivery.

How We Measure Our Progress

Each client is evaluated by a professional case manager before going on the home-delivered meals program.  Clients are then evaluated every 90 days to determine if they are still eligible and if they need any additional assistance.  Clients are visited in their home so that case managers can assess their environment and ability to maintain independent living.  The case managers ask questions related to activities of daily living, nutrition, physical and mental well-being, and resources available (financial and family) to help in times of immediate need.

Clients receive a survey at least once annually to determine if the meals provided help them remain independent and if our volunteers and staff provide friendly, thorough service.  Space is provided to list anything that was not addressed in the survey questions or is embarrassing/sensitive to the client to tell us directly.  We record all comments and try to respond to them.  We also receive calls and notes from our clients daily and record their comments.

Once a year, our clients receive an in-depth survey that asks about the meals, their health status, and improvements since receiving meals and other services.  The most recent survey for which we have results tallied is 2011.  This survey was sent to 2,131 of our clients. We received 549 responses, for a return rate of 26%. Of this 26%:

• 80% said the volunteers are friendly and helpful when they deliver.
• More than half (54%) do not typically have any visitors each day other than their meal-delivery volunteer.
• 87% believe they have become more independent because of Meals On Wheels, which shows we are accomplishing our mission of serving the homebound and giving them a greater sense of independence.
• Most clients — 90% — said Meals On Wheels has improved their overall quality of life.
• A sizable percentage (44%) said they would not be able to remain living in their own home without Meals On Wheels.
• A large number — 69% — responded that Meals On Wheels provides their main source of food on a typical day.
• 51% said they feel full and satisfied after eating their meal each day.