Who are we?

Founded in 1965 as the Home Welfare Association, Meals on Wheels (MOW) is committed to delivering nutritious meals to senior citizens, physically challenged and vulnerable members of the Winnipeg Area. We value the personal contact and caring provided by our volunteers as well as every client’s right to the very best service we can offer. We take pride in the responsible management of our human, physical and financial resources, and in providing the highest quality product. 2015 marked Meals on Wheels’ 50th anniversary. In 2020, approximately 184,000 meals were served by a dedicated team of volunteers.

We are a non-profit registered charity. There are five full–time employees who manage the administration and approximately 300 volunteers who deliver meals 365 days a year. We are governed by a Board of Directors and funded by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA), and The United Way.

We have a collaborative relationship with 11 facilities. Our meals are prepared at the WRHA Regional Distribution Facility and transported to Winnipeg’s nine hospitals for pick up by our volunteers. There are also two independent facilities that prepare food for our clients: Park Manor for the Transcona area, West Park Manor for the Charleswood area.

Our service is available to anyone who needs it; a medical referral is not required. The meals we provide contain one–third of Canada’s Food Guide daily requirements. Our clients range in age from 20 to 105. We are a low cost health care provider that allows people to live independently and with dignity in their own homes. A hospital discharge often requires that our services are in place.

Meals on Wheels clients include:

• People experiencing mobility difficulties, cognitive impairment or diminished vision
• People who have acute or chronic illnesses or diseases
• People requiring specialized diets
• People who have decreased mobility due to aging
• People who are unable to obtain groceries or prepare meals

While providing nutritious food is an important part of our services, the daily visit from volunteers is equally important to clients. For many of them, the volunteer visit is their only contact with another individual during the day and therefore eases the feeling of loneliness. For the families and friends of clients, they are assured that a trained volunteer provides meals to them on a regular basis.