Elm Court Center Meals

Elm Court Center, located in downtown Portland, is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., provides a safe place for seniors to gather for coffee, to read the paper or to just get off the streets. Many of those we serve are either homeless or live in residential hotels without cooking facilities. They turn to Elm Court Center as a haven, especially in the winter when weather is cold and wet. There are few other places for older adults to gather in downtown Portland and Elm Court Center also serves a hot and nutritious lunch every weekday.

Between Aug. 1 and Nov. 11, 2017, we served and delivered 36,290 meals to more than 850 older adults in downtown Portland for a total cost of $264,554. Gifts from GlobalGiving donors help us offset these costs. For many of those we serve, the meal we provide them is their only food of the day. Our meals are planned by a registered dietitian and meet 1/3 of the RDA for an adult. Meals are low in salt and sugar and include whole grains as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. We provide seasonal produce when possible and whole fruit when available.

As winter weather approaches, we are anticipating a number of severe snow incidents. We have already distribured two shelf-stable meals to all of our clients and told them to hold these in the event that our center is closed due to weather. We are working ahead to prepare a number of frozen meals to distribute in advance of predicted snow events later this winter. Our vision is that no senior will go hungry or experience social isolation and we want to ensure our most vulnerable clients have food even if the weather prevents us from opening and delivering.

Low-income older adults who live in downtown Portland depend on Meals on Wheels People for more than just hot and nutritious meals. In the sweltering weather we have just experienced in Oregon, our clients have come to us not only for meals, but to find a cool place to rest during the heat of the day. In cooperation with Mulntomah County, we opened our Elm Court Center as a cooling center from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the days when temperatures soared upwards of 90 and 100 degrees. Many of those we serve live in SRO or tiny flats without air conditioning in high rise buildings. Elm Court Center provided them a respite from the continous hot weather. For those who are homebound, Meals on Wheels People delivered electric fans along with meals. We solicited new and gently used electric fans and room air conditioners from volunteers and donors and made sure every client who needed a fan received one. 

Between Mar. 1 and Aug. 11 of this year, we servered and delivered 38,168 meals to o859 older adults for a total cost of $282,061. This was made possible by the generous donations of individuals like those who make gifts through GlobalGiving. We depend on donations for more than 60% of our annual budget.

We received this note from a homebound client recently: I appreciate Meals on Wheels People because they provide so much more than meals. The Elm Court Center provides a friendly meeting place for all kinds of people. They bring a little light to lonely people like me.