Meals on Wheels of Ramsey County Program Support
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Senior Services Consortium of Ramsey CountySupport for the Meals on Wheels of Ramsey County network for providing home-delivered meals.
$3,938
raised by 31 people
Update #1
2024 Meals on Wheels Client Survey
How are we doing? Each year we survey all of our Meals on Wheels clients to see how we are doing, and how the program helps folks stay nourished and independent. Here are a few important stats from our 2024 survey results:
-96% of Meals on Wheels clients would recommend to a friend
-84% said their Meals on Wheels helps them maintain their living situation
-86% said their meals help them eat more healthy
Meals on Wheels Client Testimonials (2024):
"I am grateful to receive these meals and I look forward to eating well balanced and healthy meals. It helps me stretch my SSDI, what is left after I make my mortgage payment and utilities. These meals help me with portion control." --MOW 65 year old client, Maplewood
"My high cholesterol decreased to normal. I was able to stop high blood pressure meds per my doctor."--MOW 64 year old client, St. Paul
"Meals on Wheels is a blessing for me. I live alone, don't drive, can't walk without a walker, and have medical issues." --MOW 83 year old client, Mounds View
"I love talking to the staff. They are very helpful and patient with me in making a decision about choices. They are friendly, cheerful, and accommodating!" -- MOW 69 year old client, St. Paul
"I am so thankful to know that my Mom will get a great lunch every weekday. It has allowed me to keep her at home." --MOW Client Family Member in Mounds View
Thank you to all who donate and volunteer!
The mission of our Meals on Wheels network is "To sustain a strong collaborative of community-based organizations that are dedicated to helping people maintain their independence and improve the quality of their lives through good nutrition." Our network has been collaborating on Meals on Wheels in Ramsey County and beyond for 49 years! Through this tightly linked network, we are able to ensure an effective, economical, and streamlined program that is locally-based and responsive to individual community needs. Being able to work together as a network allows us to stretch limited resources, advance best practices, and support community engagement in each area of Ramsey County.
Our vision is "A thriving collaborative helping to shape the future of food security in Ramsey County and beyond by being neighborhood focused, volunteer-based, and leveraging a strong continuum of services." The eight agencies that make up Meals on Wheels in Ramsey County are led by these values when it comes to our work together:
- Dignity: Everyone deserves the right to age in a healthy, vital, and rewarding manner.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Respecting and honoring the cultures and traditions that are meaningful to the people we serve and supporting the fair treatment and full participation of all people regardless of ability, age, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other status.
- Integrity: Being accountable to the people and communities we serve.
- Neighborhood-based Care: Being deeply connected to the communities we serve and providing opportunities for people to stay in their homes and neighborhoods whenever possible.
- Partnerships: Working with caregivers and others for the common good.
- Services: Actively engaging those we serve in decisions about how they are served and can be of service.
- Transparency: Being transparent in our decision making and practices.
- Volunteer Engagement: Volunteers reflect our diverse community and enrich our work and the lives of those we serve.
Several of our funding streams are staying flat or decreasing as we look ahead to 2025, despite rising costs of food and staffing. Currently we are on track to serve 12% more meals in 2024 as compared with 2023, and in the last three years since Covid our meals are up almost 30% but funding has not at all kept pace with the demand. Currently, 16% of Ramsey County residents are seniors, and this is expected to double by 2040. Meals on Wheels can serve meals to a senior for an entire year for roughly the same cost as one day in the hospital or 10 days in a nursing home.
Together, we can help older adults live nourished lives with independence and dignity. We have a great network and strategy in place, and together with your donations we can make it happen. Thank you for your support!