The elderly population in Contra Costa County is currently the fastest-growing demographic in our part of California. With so many older adults in more rural, isolated areas, there is a great need for organizations to help step up and care for our neighbors.
This is where Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa has been serving our community since 1990. We work with a few partner organizations to provide these meals, and as an organization, we have been helping seniors remain happy and independent.
Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa provides several benefits to our community, including our senior meal program, health or wellness checks, companionship, and volunteer opportunities.
Meals on Wheels Home-Delivered Meals Program
Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa’s main purpose as a nonprofit organization is to assist our partners through fundraising. We subsidize the cost of the meals our partner nonprofits deliver to our senior clients. As an organization, our goal is to help as many seniors as possible.
Every week our partners deliver nutritious meals to over two thousand seniors throughout Contra Costa County. Many of our seniors live in rural areas where it’s challenging to get healthy, nutritious foods. Many of our seniors are also over the age of 70 or even 80, which makes general mobility difficult for them. Our meal program sets all of our seniors up for success and provides them with the delicious, healthy meals they require!
All the volunteer drivers are trained in food safety measures, meaning every delivery is as easy as possible for our seniors. All they have to do is pop their frozen meal (due to COVID-19 restrictions, hot meals are temporarily restricted) into the microwave and enjoy.
Performing Health Checks
Meals on Wheels Home-Delivered Meals Program doesn’t just deliver meals – volunteers are also performing health checks on each senior that they deliver to.
Every driver is trained to take helping seniors to the next level. They are checking many different health points for our senior clients. Many of these checks include:
- Is the senior showing signs of a mental illness, like dementia or depression?
- Is the senior overall healthy – no falls, broken bones, missed medication, etc?
- Are there signs of elder abuse in the home?
- Is the senior eating the food Meals on Wheels delivers, or are they showing signs of no appetite?
Having that extra layer of protection and an extra set of eyes means that our senior clients can maintain their independence in their homes. This is an integral part of keeping our elderly community happy and stable.
Offering Companionship
Direct contact with a compassionate, helpful person who has your best interests at heart is vital for everyone. This is especially true for our senior clients.
Pre-COVID, volunteers didn’t just deliver meals; they offered our senior clients companionship. They would sit with them, enjoy a conversation with them, and learn from them. Our isolated seniors need this companionship for their emotional and mental health.
During the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers couldn’t interact the same way with our senior clients. This is because Contra Costa Meals on Wheels observed the highest COVID standards, which meant no contact for our high-risk seniors. However, as restrictions have eased and vaccinations have become more widespread, volunteers have been able to spend more time with our seniors.
Offering Volunteer Opportunities
Helping seniors is our primary purpose, but Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa is also a nonprofit that helps our entire community. All of our volunteers prioritize helping seniors throughout all their activities.
Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa offers volunteer opportunities to all ages, from children to older adults. Everyone can help us with our fundraising events! This raises money for our organization and is an exciting chance for families, college students, or anyone to get involved. Our events are also based directly in our wider community, which means that the money raised stays in Contra Costa County.
How to Help Meals on Wheels of Contra Costa
We have many ways that the community can get involved with Meals on Wheels and our partners!
Donating to our cause is one of the best ways to support the meals on wheels program because your donation goes straight into subsidizing the meal cost for seniors. We have many ways to donate, making it as easy as possible for you!
If donating isn’t an option for you, we are always looking for office or event volunteers. Our partners are also always in need of meal delivery volunteers. Volunteers are truly the backbone of our organization, and we couldn’t function without them!
We appreciate everything that our future donors, supporters, and volunteers do for our community! We hope that we can grow in our services offerings to help seniors in Contra Costa County.