The company I chose to do my project on is Meals on Wheels of Solano County (MOW). There are hundreds on MOW's around the country including several in California. I chose Solano County because I worked for them for two years and I had an inside look on how things operated there.
Meals on Wheels of Solano County, directed my Michael Garver, is a non-profit organization who provides lunch-time meals seven days a week to the homebound elderly ages sixty and above and the disabled. They have been in business since 1977. For fourteen years, they only served Vallejo and Fairfield, but in 2001 they branched out to also serve Suisun, Dixon, Vacaville and Rio Vista. MOW's sole purpose for existing is to allow the elderly and disables who are unable to prepare meals for themselves to stay in their homes longer without being institutionalized. They do this by allowing them to have a nutritionally balanced meal everyday. The program also helps the homebound because the majority of the people being served do not get human contact on a daily basis, if at all. The program allows them to see friendly faces everyday when their meals are delivered.
Meals on Wheels provides nutritional meals that are made fresh everyday and then frozen. The meals are delivered Monday through Friday between 12:00pm - 2:00pm. For those who do not have a microwave or oven, their meals are brought to them already heated. There are no deliveries made on the weekends, but if requested two extra meals are delivered on Friday for Saturday and Sunday. There are no set charges for the meals, but donations from clients are welcome. No one will be turned down for the inability to pay for their meals. MOW of Solano County currently has 600 clients which 140 of them are from senior centers. They also have 150 volunteers to deliver the meals.
Meals on Wheels is funded 65% by the government and the other 35% must be raised from the community.