Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels originated in the United Kingdom during the Blitz in the Second World War, when many people lost their homes and therefore the ability to cook their own food.
[3][4][5] The first home delivery of a meal on wheels took place during World War II and was made by the WVS in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England in 1943.
[3][citation needed] This type of service requires many volunteers with an adequate knowledge of basic cooking to prepare the meals by a set time each day.
The majority of local authorities in the United Kingdom have now moved away from freshly cooked food delivery, and towards the supply of frozen pre-cooked reheatable meals.
[6] One of the pioneers of meals on wheels was said to be Harbans Lall Gulati, a general practitioner from Battersea, according to his obituary in the British Medical Journal.
In the spring of 1963, Ruby Cuthbert, a nurse, implemented the Meals on Wheels programme with the support of the local Soroptimist Club.
[citation needed] In January 1966, women from the St. Matthias Church started the service in Westmount, Quebec, and the idea spread to other communities in Montreal.
{citation needed} In 1970, Inez Webster established a Meals on Wheels program in Montreal West operating out of the United Church.
[20] The program relied on 100 to 150 volunteers a year to deliver hot meals twice a week to seniors living alone and on fixed incomes.
Meals were delivered then to some 400 people around Longford, mostly elderly or disabled, and were free of charge, supported by small grants and locally collected funds.
Most clients of Meals on Wheels programmes are elderly, but others who are unable to shop or cook for themselves (as well as their pets) are generally eligible for assistance.
[citation needed] Wolverhampton Council took a different approach: instead of closing the service, it has been expanded so anyone living in the city can order meals on wheels.
The programme isn't just for the elderly; people of any age who live alone often call when they're recovering after a recent hospital stay and are unable to cook for themselves.
Other users of Meals on Wheels are people with disabilities such as multiple sclerosis who use the programme to help them through a rough time when cooking becomes too difficult.
[citation needed] A study by Trinity College Dublin[39] published in 2008 on behalf of the National Council on Ageing and Older People found most of Ireland served by Meals on Wheels services (or centre-based alternatives) since the 1980s, over half being registered charities.
The first such program in the United States was started by social worker Margaret Toy in 1954 at the request of the Philadelphia Health & Welfare Council.
MOWAA is the oldest and largest organization in the United States representing those who provide meal services to seniors in need, specifically those at risk of or experiencing hunger.
MOWAA is a non-profit organization working toward the social, physical, nutritional and economic betterment of vulnerable Americans by providing the tools and information its programmes need to make a difference in the lives of others.
Gael Greene and James Beard founded Citymeals-on-Wheels in 1981 after reading a newspaper article about homebound elderly New Yorkers with nothing to eat on weekends and holidays.
They rallied their friends in the restaurant community, raising private funds as a supplement to the government-funded weekday meal delivery programme.
[citation needed] The Meals On Wheels Association of America Foundation (MOWAAF),[46] recognizing that hunger is a serious threat facing millions of seniors in the United States, determined that understanding of the problem is a critical first step to developing remedies.
[47] In 2007, MOWAAF, underwritten by the Harrah's Foundation, commissioned a research study entitled The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America.
Relative to their representation in the overall senior population, those with limited incomes, under age 70, African-Americans, Hispanics, never-married individuals, renters, and persons living in the southern United States are all more likely to be at-risk of hunger.
[49] In March 2017, President Donald Trump's proposed budget would make cuts to block grants that go towards spending on Meals on Wheels.
[42] Defending these cuts, director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney said that "Meals on Wheels sounds great" but that the program is one of many that is "just not showing any results.
"[1][2] The study concluded, "Home-delivered meal programs improve diet quality and increase nutrient intakes among participants.
