March was a turning point for everyone, especially the vulnerable and elderly. Our clients realized that life as they knew it was on hold. For some, instead of the Sunday visit from family or weekly coffee with friends, the doors to the outside slammed shut. For others, the world of isolation was far too familiar. Getting out, even for essentials, was impossible.   Edmonton Meals on Wheels was a saviour for many. Meal, pet food, hamper and grocery delivery continued. Services ramped up to meet the need of the...

In March 2020 life changed for everyone. The pandemic seriously affected individuals, businesses and charities.  Businesses closed, people self-isolated, charities scrambled to fill the gaps.   Meals on Wheels was declared an essential service and expanded shifts, meal production and staffing to meet the growing need of some of our most vulnerable citizens.   Socially conscious Edmontonians rose to the occasion helping to fill the gap when most of our volunteers went on immediate leave due to COVID-19.  Meals on Wheels depends on our caring community to support our operations including...

It’s been over three months since the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus a global pandemic. There is no doubt our lives, ways of living and working have drastically changed. Meals on Wheels was declared an essential service and very soon we began to understand the serious ramifications and responsibility of supporting our vulnerable clients in this uncharted, complex and changing environment.   The agency pandemic plan, our guiding document, had been reviewed and updated. On March 13, 2020 service delivery, environmental and production changes began.  Social distancing and noncontact delivery...

Meals on Wheels has been incredibly fortunate to have so many members of the community step up to help our agency over the past few months! When the pandemic first hit, we saw a sharp drop in our volunteer numbers. Many of our regularly scheduled volunteers could no longer fill their shifts. Some were vulnerable to getting ill, some had people in their life who they needed to protect, and others were concerned about the virus that we knew so little about.  As a volunteer-based organization, this brought major concerns....

We know that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our clients have struggled mentally due to the impacts of social isolation and lack of connection to the outside world. We've tried our best to do little extras in hopes that it will lift their spirits. For Mother’s Day, we delivered teddy bears to our clients along with their meal!   Among those clients was Lisa, an 89-year old woman who lives in a senior’s home within the city. Lisa uses a walker and isn’t able to leave her home without...

We want to personally thank each and every one of you for continually supporting our mission, even now as we navigate through uncharted territory. The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on what you, our loyal supporters, have known all along. Meals on Wheels is an essential service for many of our city’s most vulnerable. Senior, homebound, and at-risk Edmontonians turn to us as a lifeline for food, essentials and social engagement. For 50 years we’ve been committed to providing healthy and affordable meal and grocery delivery programs. Today, even during...

Resources are focused on serving Edmonton’s home bound, isolated and most vulnerable   Ours is an essential service and Edmonton Meals on Wheels has responded. Working 24/7, we have increased meal production to ensure we are able to meet the growing needs for meal services and delivery. The community is assured our meals remain affordable, nutritious, and healthy.   Whether a person is self-isolating, experiencing very limited income, homebound, or isolated our mandate is to serve all who require our meal services. Chef’s Choice® frozen meals, daily meal delivery, and weekly...

Charity is focusing resources on core service delivering meals to the city’s isolated and most vulnerable. During the COVID-19 situation, Edmonton Meals on Wheels is committed to maintaining our core meal services and delivery to vulnerable, homebound, and isolated Edmontonians. We are closely following the advice of our respected health authorities, expanding our facility sanitation and ensuring practices in delivery like social distancing are in place to minimize the risk of spreading the virus to our volunteers and clients. Our resourceful and responsive staff are rolling out a plan during...

This month’s Featured Volunteer is a work-a-holic, but she still manages to make time to deliver meals each week. Barbara came to Meals on Wheels in 2017 and quickly became someone we can trust and rely on. Whether it’s picking up extra shifts, or delivering to clients outside her regular route, Barbara is always up for the challenge.   Barbara had considered volunteering at Meals on Wheels for years. She loved the idea of bringing food to those in need and felt like the organization was doing “real good in...

We would like to extend an invitation to the public to the Edmonton Meals on Wheels AGM on March 18th. The meeting will start at 2:00 pm with light snacks and refreshments to follow.  We appreciate all of our wonderful supporters so much and would love it if you could attend!   A copy of the current bylaws and the proposed changes will be available at the AGM.  If you wish to receive this sooner, please email emow.mealsonwheelsedmonton.org.    Please RSVP by March 12th by calling 780.429.2020 or email emow.mealsonwheelsedmonton.org. We...