Programs - Meals On Wheels of Tarrant County

Home-Delivered Meals | Adult Activity Centers | Case Management | Client Assistance | Friend to Friend | Companion Pet Meals | Nutrition Education | HomeMeds

Meals On Wheels of Tarrant County provides more than just a nutritious meal. While the nutritional health of our clients is at the heart of everything we do, we have established a number of ancillary programs to meet specific needs within the community. These programs address issues ranging from isolation to unsafe living conditions to a variety of nutrition programs that help our clients manage chronic health issues.

Home-Delivered Meals Program

As part of our Home-Delivered Meals program, Meals On Wheels of Tarrant County offers several meal options to meet the individual needs of our clients. These nutritionally-balanced meals are delivered to the front door of our homebound, elderly, disabled, and food-insecure clients. We prepare and deliver approximately 1.3 million meals per year right here in Tarrant County.

Home-Delivered Meals Options:

Hot Meals — Hot noontime meals are delivered each weekday by caring volunteers who also provide a friendly smile and a daily safety check. Lunchtime meals consist of an entree, two side dishes, bread, dessert, and a beverage.
Weekend Meals — Clients who need additional nutritional support may qualify for weekend meals. These frozen meals are delivered on Friday along with the regular hot-meal delivery.
Breakfast Meals — Many clients need a greater level of care and qualify for breakfast meals in addition to our regular noontime meal. Breakfast meals are refrigerated and intended to be eaten the following morning.
Frozen Meals — Some clients cannot be home for a hot-meal delivery and will receive a weekly delivery of frozen meals. This option is designed to offer flexibility for clients who have regularly-scheduled dialysis or other medical procedures. Food insecure clients may also benefit from this option.

Qualification Criteria: Home-Delivered Meals are available to those who live in Tarrant County, Texas who are homebound for any length of time, are physically or mentally unable to prepare nutritious meals for themselves, and who have no one in their home to help them on a regular basis. There are no age or income restrictions and no one is ever approved or denied services based on their ability to make a voluntary contribution toward the cost of the services provided.

Meals are planned by licensed, registered dietitians and meet the dietary guidelines established by the U.S. Government.

The Home-Delivered Meals Program is supported in part by a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. The Fund for Veterans’ Assistance provides grants to organizations serving veterans and their families. For more information on the Texas Veterans Commission, visit TVC.Texas.gov

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Adult Activity Centers Program

Adult activity center participants age 60 and over enjoy planned activities that stimulate the body and mind and improve their overall well-being. In addition to a delicious lunchtime meal, participants benefit from social interactions with friends, which help combat isolation and loneliness. If an individual is interested in attending an adult activity center, but lacks transportation, he or she may qualify for limited transportation assistance.

View a list of adult activity centers in Tarrant County, Texas.

For more information about adult activity centers and their locations throughout Tarrant County, contact us at 817-258-6482 or email AAC@mealsonwheels.org.

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Case Management

volunteer delivers meal Each Home-Delivered Meals client and prospective client is assigned to a professional case manager who assesses the client’s needs, coordinates other needed services, and advocates for the client with other agencies. All Home-Delivered Meals clients are re-certified for the program on an annual basis. The case manager is also the client’s link to accessing and receiving other services within the community.

Our first priority is always providing a nourishing noon meal, but case managers also determine if clients need additional meals or other services. Case managers see every client in their home at least three times per year.

The level of care provided by our case managers helps to greatly improve the quality of life for our clients, allowing them to live in their own homes for as long as possible.

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Client Assistance Program

Through our Client Assistance program, we are able to provide support to clients who need help with minor home repairs and safety issues. These projects are intended to keep clients at home in a safe and healthy environment. This program is intended for clients who desperately need something and have no other resources available.

client receiving home delivered meal

Client Assistance projects are specific; therefore, once an item is provided or a situation is addressed, the client’s level of impairment is immediately improved. The Client Assistance program is funded through donor-designated gifts and by local businesses that provide assistance with minor plumbing, electrical, roofing, home repairs, and other tasks on a pro-bono or reduced-cost basis. With your support, we can provide fans, air conditioners, heaters, walkers, blankets, adult incontinence supplies, grab bars, microwave ovens, bedside toilets, personal hygiene products, and so much more. We can also help clients with toiletries, adult incontinence supplies and supplemental pantry food.

If you would like to make a monetary donation to Meals On Wheels in support of the Client Assistance program, click here. For more information about the Client Assistance program, please contact Jennifer at jflynn@mealsonwheels.org or 817-258-6433.

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Friend to Friend Program

The Friend to Friend program is designed to help combat the loneliness and isolation of our homebound clients. Volunteers are encouraged to build friendships with lonely clients by making weekly in-home visits. Many of our clients have no visitors except for the person who delivers their meal each day. These individuals have been productive members of society for many years and have interesting stories and experiences to share with anyone who will take the time to listen.

You can enhance someone’s life by simply being a friend to an elderly or disabled person who may have no other visitors. To ensure the safety of our clients, each Friend to Friend volunteer must pass a short background check. After that, we will bring you in for an orientation, match you with one of our clients needing a friend, and when the time comes, go with you to introduce you to your new friend. We require a 6-month commitment for this program, but the great news is you can do this on your own timeline.

For more information on this program or to become a volunteer, contact Judy Bell via email or by calling 817-258-6426.

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Companion Pet Meals

meals on wheels client with pet Years ago, we learned that an alarming number of our elderly and disabled clients were not eating all of their nutritious meal, but actually sharing it with their pets! This is a real problem for clients who live on a minimal income and desperately need the full nutritional benefits of our meals, not to mention the fact that our meals are not always healthy for the pets. Clients who have difficulty adequately feeding their cat or dog may receive supplemental pet food for up to two pets at no charge.

The average cost of providing pet food to a dog or cat is:

$ 7 feeds a dog or cat for one week
$ 25 feeds a dog or cat for one month
$300 feeds a dog or cat for an entire year!

If you would like to make a donation designated for our Companion Pet Meals program, click here.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Jennifer at jflynn@mealsonwheels.org or 817-258-6433.

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Nutrition Counseling

Through our Nutrition Counseling initiatives, we work to keep people healthy at home and reduce preventable hospitalizations and emergency room visits, ultimately saving valuable taxpayer dollars.

To learn more about the Nutrition Education initiative, contact us at 817-258-6427 or via email at nutrition@mealsonwheels.org

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HomeMeds Program

The HomeMeds program was established to prevent falls and hospitalization due to medication errors and adverse drug effects among older adults. The risk for severe reactions and interactions, medication errors, and medication duplications are found at an alarming rate among the senior population. Through this program, we are able to save lives and health care dollars by identifying serious drug reactions and help eliminate the need for our clients to visit hospitals because of problems with their medication.

To learn more about the HomeMeds program, contact us at 817-258-6427 or via email at nutrition@mealsonwheels.org

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