EIN: 52-1344727
Mission Statement
Meals on Wheels of Arlington, Virginia, is a largely volunteer organization delivering meals to homebound residents in Arlington, Virginia. We work in partnership with Arlington County’s Agency on Aging, and are affiliated with Meals on Wheels America. Our volunteers work to ensure Arlington’s homebound residents’ nutrition needs are met and provide social interaction.
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 2023, 139 volunteers delivered 97,536 meals acquired by Meals on Wheels of Arlington, Virginia, (MOW) to 296 beneficiaries either weekly or daily, depending on need. MOW addresses food insecurity for Arlington residents who are over 60 and unable to manage food preparation on their own. MOW also serves a significant number (approximately one-third of the 180 clients served) of 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 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 180 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?
Members of the public can help us out by volunteering to drive meals to our clients. A second way is to donate to our cause.
Volunteer drivers are the engines that move us! In a month, we deliver over 7,500 meals through approximately 30 routes averaging 5-10 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 little overhead, donations directly fund mission-related needs. Most of our donation dollars are directed toward funding meals for homebound Arlingtonians who do not meet Arlington County’s age requirement of 60 and who cannot afford to pay for meals on their own. $60 funds meals for a week for a homebound Arlington resident. Donations allow us to add clients to our roles.
Information provided March 2024