Elm Court Center Meals

As the pandemic continues, Meals on Wheels People is providing more meals than ever before to older adults in the Portland metro area. Between Sept. 1 and Dec. 27, 2020 we delivered 54,687 nutritious meals to homebound seniors in the vicinity of our Elm Court Center in downtown Portland. This represents a 60% increase over the number of meals served and delivered during this same time period one year ago. As the pandemic continues to limit the ability for people to gather in groups, Meals on Wheels People is still able to deploy volunteers to deliver meals to those who need them most. We anticipate we will continue our current level of delivery -- nearly 8,000 meals daily throughout the metro area -- until mid-2021 when most people have had access to the new vaccine. Until that time, older adults will continue to social isolate and will need meals.

Our Friendly Chat program is ongoing. Those seniors who are interested can sign up for a volunteer to call and talk with them once or twice a week. On Thanksgiving Day, when we delivered nearly 2500 meals, every meal recipient received a Friendly Chat call from a volunteer. This program has received a lot of attention and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has asked to be included in the call rotation in January.

We have also continued to deliver supplemental food. For many we serve, the one meal we bring them is often their only food of the day. And, with limited access to grocery shopping for many, we have been sending out staples such as potatoes, fruit, bread and nutrient-rich foods they can use to put together their own meals. The added food boxes have been very well received and appreciated by our clients.

In the New Year, we will begin to investigate opportunities for setting up a second production kitchen on the East side of the Willamette River. This will not only provide additional prep and storage space, but will help to cut down on the number of trips our delivery trucks will need to make daily.

As always, we are extremely grateful to the GlobalGiving donors for helping us reach our vision that no senior will go hungry or experience social isolation. Thank you for supporting senior nutrition in our community.