Meals on Wheels of San Francisco
1375 Fairfax Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124
Kate Moran, Volunteer Coordinator, (415) 920-1111 x 231
E-mail kmoran@mowsf.org
Fax (415) 920-1110
Visit our website at www.mowsf.org
Mission
Meals On Wheels of San Francisco is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing the inappropriate or premature institutionalization
of the city's homebound elderly. To this end, we deliver nutritional meeals to over 1,200 people and serve and entertain 300 additional
clients daily at our congregate meal site. We supplement this service withs social work assessment and referral, case
management, nutritional counseling, and volunteer support.
History
Meals on Wheels was started in 1970 by a group of volunteers who worked out of
neighborhood kitchens to prepare and deliver meals to their frail, homebound neighbors. As
the need for this service outstripped volunteers' capacity to provide for it, professional drivers,
social workers and administrative staff were hired, and meals were prepared by a hospital nutrition
staff, and later by a corporate caterer.
Programs and Services
Home Delivery
Meals on Wheels clients receive 2 complete meals daily. Together they meet 2/3 of the recommended
daily allowance of nutrients. All meals are carefully monitored for food safety and nutrition
standards. Meals on Wheels' state-of-the-art food production facility gives us the
flexibility to produce a cost-efficient 3-tiered food plan of hot, chilled, and frozen meals. In
addition to diabetic, low sodium, and mechanically softened meals, we plan to produce
a wide variety of modified food plans such as bland diets and lowfat meals. Meals on Wheels
offers liquid nutritional supplements for clients at risk for malnutrition due to illness. And our drivers
provide the warm smile and daily attention our seniors thrive on.
Congregate Meal Service
In addition to our home-delivered meal program, we operate a congregate meal site at 432 Mason
Street where nearly 450 seniors come together every weekday for a hot, 3 course lunch in a dining room
setting. The program also serves up a healthy dose of dancing, Tai Chi classes, information and referral
services for seniors, blood-pressure screening, Bingo, and more.
Nutrition Counseling
Our on-staff registered dietitians make home visits and counsel individual clients according to specific
needs. Nutrition education is shared with each client in newsletters and special reminder notes
about important issues such as food safety.
Social Work Assessment and Referral
Ateam of social workers keeps a watchful eye on clients with regular visits and consultations
with the drivers who see clients daily. These client advocates and counselors provide a link
between the meals and other services that may be needed to keep seniors living independently.
Holiday, Birthday and Volunteer Programs
Volunteers have a special place at Meals on Wheels. They help clients with grocery shopping, deliver
meals, take seniors for walks, read them their mail, or pay friendly visits. We even deliver individual birthday
cakes to clients with birthdays in any given month - and there's a special recipe cake for diabetic clients.
Our Clients
- 100% are physically challenged
- 74% have an annual income of less than $7500
- 66% live alone
- 66% are women
- 60% are over the age of 75
- 8 are over the age of 100!
In addition to people meals, Meals on Wheels delivers pet food (partially donated by the SPCA) to
more than 40 clients who love their animal companions, but would not otherwise be able to keep them.
The Greying of the Nation
- Nearly 20% of San Franciscans are aged 60 or over
- According to the 1990 census, one quarter of San Franciscans age 65 and over reported a
mobility or self-care limitation
- By 1997, one of every five working Americans will be caring for an aging relative
- Meals on Wheels gets an average 75 calls per week from seniors who need our services
How You Can Help
Whether you have a lot of time or a little, a specific skill you'd like to use or a general desire to
help - we want to hear from you. Please take a moment to look over our list of volunteer opportunities,
then give us a call or drop us a line. With your time, your energy, your spirit, and your ideas you can open up a homebound
senior's world. Here's what you can do:
- Delivery Assistance - Help one of our staff drivers deliver nutritious meals to homebound San Francisco seniors.
Beginning at 11:30 am and lasting around 3 hours, this delivery route winds through the Northbeach and Marina districts,
and serves a regular group of ongoing clients.
- Companion Visitor - Provide basic assistance by visiting a homebound elder as a companion: take
walks, listen, read together, tell stories, and become friends.
- Tele-Check-in call - Make a valuable contribution by calling one or more homebound seniors, depending on
your schedule and each senior's needs. Be someone's friend and connection to the outside world.
- Grocery Shopping/Delivery - Help supplement Meals On Wheels' deliveries by doing a homebound senior's
grocery shopping. Grocery Shoppers comfort and strengthen these seniors with the knowledge that someone is available
to help them get the things they need.
- Clerical/Office Assistance - Assist in mailings, filing, word processing, desktop publishing,
grant writing, special events, video, and lots more.
- Meal Server - Serve food to elders at our downtown congregate meal site; set-up,
clean-up, and kitchen assistance.
- Pet Pal - Deliver donated dog and cat food once a month to homebound seniors' pets.
You can also volunteer to walk a dog or take a pet to the vet!
- Donation Cannister Representative - Ask local businesses to sponsor a donation cannister to benefit Meals On Wheels.
Get to know your neighborhood shopkeepers while helping Meals On Wheels gain the funds to serve more people.
- Lunchtime Performer - We're looking for musicians, dancers, and performers to entertain more than 300 seniors during lunch
hour at our St. Francis meal site. Perform once or as an ongoing commitment.
- Volunteer Driver - Meals On Wheels is instituting our first volunteer-run delivery route in years! Help us serve more people by
volunteering to deliver food to approximately ten seniors in San Francisco's Richmond district.
For more information on volunteer opportunities please call us at (415) 920-1111.
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