EIN: 52-1344727
Mission Statement
At Meals on Wheels Arlington, our mission is to nourish and empower homebound individuals in Arlington by providing wholesome, prepared meals with compassion and care. We believe that everyone deserves access to nutritious food and the comfort of connection. Through our dedicated volunteers and community partnerships, we strive to enhance the well-being and dignity of those we serve, fostering a sense of belonging and support for all. Together, we are creating a healthier, more inclusive community where no one faces hunger alone.
Program Summary
Potential clients are referred to the Arlington County Agency on Aging for eligibility intake. For accepted clients, meals are prepared by a commercial caterer and delivered to our staging area at First Presbyterian Church on Vermont Avenue in the Ballston neighborhood. Volunteer drivers pick up the meals and deliver them to homebound residents in North and South Arlington. Most clients receive 10 meals delivered once a week, along with beverages. A small group who cannot accommodate a bulk delivery receive two meals, five days a week, plus beverages. We currently serve about 180 clients each week. First Presbyterian Church allows us to use their facility for staging and storage, but we do not have a permanent physical address.
Impact Statement
In 2024, volunteers from our 139 person roster devoted 7000 hours delivering 93,000 meals to 290 individual client. Meals are delivered either weekly or daily, depending on need. Meals on Wheels Arlington addresses food insecurity for Arlington residents who are over 60 and unable to manage food preparation on their own. Meals on Wheels Arlington also serves Arlington residents under age 60, who, because of their age cannot be funded through the Arlington Agency on Aging. MOW uses its own funds to support these individuals. These are Arlington residents who are homebound and unable to provide food for themselves. These are Arlington residents who are homebound and unable to provide food for themselves who would otherwise fall through the cracks of Arlington’s excellent programs.
An added benefit to our program is that because MOW drivers have regular contact with our clients, they can be our eyes on the ground. In the event they see something that would affect a client’s health or safety, MOW will communicate these concerns to Arlington County, for follow up by a social worker.
What ways can the public get involved?
Of course, members of the public are welcome to donate to our organization with funds as well as volunteering. Members of the public can help us out by volunteering to drive meals to our clients or load the driver’s vehicles.
Volunteer drivers are the engines that move us! In a month, we deliver over 7,700 meals through approximately 35 routes averaging 5-8 clients per route. The majority of our delivery activity occurs on Wednesdays. We do not deliver evenings or weekends. We ask our drivers to be available at least once a month. The time commitment to drive a route is about 2.5 hours and requires use of the driver’s own vehicle.
How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?
As a volunteer-driven organization with an overhead rate of less than 1%, donations directly fund mission-related needs. Most of our donation dollars are directed toward funding meals for homebound clients who do not meet Arlington County’s age requirement of 60 and who cannot afford to pay for meals on their own. $62 funds meals for a week for a homebound Arlington resident. Donations allow us to add clients to our roles.
Though we are affiliated with Meals on Wheels America, we receive no funding from the national organization. Meals on Wheels Arlington is fully locally funded and managed.
Information provided March 2025