Community Support Connections – Meals on Wheels

Details

Most grocery stores are now setting aside shopping hours for seniors and others who may need some extra help to limit their risk of contracting COVID-19. But that doesn’t help older adults or people with disabilities who are unable to leave their homes or cook their own meals.

Starting Tuesday, March 31th, Community Support Connections is providing a modified no-contact meal delivery of hot or frozen meals to protect clients and the volunteers and staff delivering to them.
For the last two weeks, the local agency closed its Meals on Wheels kitchen and coordinated bulk deliveries of frozen meals while they developed new protocols to best provide service to clients in a sustainable manner throughout the pandemic.

Now, the organization’s three Red Seal Chefs are back in the kitchen making delicious and nutritious hot meals, currently consisting of a soup and main entrée. Hot meals are being delivered to those already registered with the program, but there are many that could benefit from the door-to-door delivery who are not registered. “We know there are many older adults in our community who were not signed up for Meals on Wheels prior to the pandemic and who may be without food, or worried about going out right now,” said Will Pace, Executive Director of Community Support Connections. “Meals on Wheels is an affordable solution based on the consumer’s income to make sure they’re available to anyone who needs them.”

Community Support Connections opened its own kitchen a few years ago, later adding an on-site garden to increase fresh local content in their meals. Last year they delivered over 84,000 meals to people in Waterloo Region. The public is being asked to identify anyone that they know has been struggling to feed themselves during this pandemic.

Anyone interested in service can call 519-7727-8787 to speak with their Manager of Food Services at extension 252.

More volunteers are also needed, with an online application available at communitysupportconnections.org. As many regular volunteers are older adults themselves, some are unable to deliver at this time. Businesses or social groups can adopt a Meals on Wheels route to take turns delivering once a week.

For more information please contact:
Rosalind Horne
Major Gifts and Engagement Lead Community Support Connections
Phone: (519) 772-8787 extension 225
rosalindh@cscmow.org

Community Support Connections relies on more than 1,300 volunteers and donors to help over 7,600 clients in Waterloo Region live at home with independence and dignity. The agency’s services are strategically focused in four areas to maximize impact: Nutrition, Physical Health, Social Wellbeing, and Help at Home.