Meals on Wheels of Mercer County (MOWMC) is a comprehensive nutrition program committed to providing nutritious meals and related services, while easing the social isolation of our homebound participants. The goal of our services is to assist participants, who wish to remain in their homes, maintain independence, dignity, health, and well-being.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Meals on Wheels of Mercer County provides daily, home-delivered meals to individuals who are homebound, and are unable to shop or prepare meals for themselves. These “meals-on-wheels” are delivered by volunteers five days per week, and may include weekend meals. The meals are prepared by Gourmet Dining LLC at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ . Up to two meals per day are available to participants.
Meal Delivery
Meals are delivered once daily by volunteers. Participants receive their meals between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Participants are asked to remain home during these hours for delivery – meals normally come at approximately the same time each day, but may vary occasionally. If a participant is not home or does not answer the door, volunteers will not leave a meal. Instead, a “Sorry We Missed You Note” is left, indicating that volunteers attempted to deliver a meal but there was no response. Meals on Wheels of Mercer County staff are notified and will follow up with the client and/or their emergency contact person. No further meals are delivered until the participant contacts our office. In this way, we make sure our participants are safe and thriving in their homes.
Meal Menu Options
Menus rotate on a four week cycle (monthly), and are subject to change at the discretion of Gourmet Dining. Menus vary in daily selections, with dishes that appeal to a wide array of palates that include ethnic and cultural variety such as Italian, Latino, German, Asian, and American!
MEAL PLAN OPTIONS
- 1 meal plan – 1 hot meal (includes meat/pasta and 2 sides) and one cold bag (includes milk, bread, salad, dessert)
- 2 meal plan – 1 Meal Plan plus a larger cold bag (includes additional milk, dessert/vegetable, sandwich) [one hot meal; one large bag with client last name on them]
- A Limited number of weekend meals are available. Please contact the office for more information Special Diets
Therapeutic diets (renal, no leafy greens, lactose intolerant, chopped, pureed, etc) are available by physician order only.
We also provide limited vegetarian options. We are only able to accommodate protein preference requests (meats, fish, eggs, etc) and we cannot accept clients with life threatening food allergies.
THE COST OF YOUR MEALS MAY BE COVERED
- Are you over 65?
- Are you disabled?
- Do you require assistance with grocery shopping and/or preparing meals?
- Are you on Medicaid/Medicare or a member of a Health Insurance Plan that offers a paid meal benefit?
Can you say yes to any of these questions? If so, you might qualify for government or health plan assistance and have Meals on Wheels delivered at no cost to you!
If you’re currently a Medicaid / Medicare recipient, contact your assigned case manager. Your case manager will confirm your eligibility and send an authorization to Meals on Wheels on your behalf.
To find out more information about government funding to cover the cost of your meal, possible eligible individuals can contact:
Mercer County office on Aging (AAA) 609. 989.6661
NJ Medicaid 800.356.1561
The Social Security Administration 800.772.1213
These agencies work to help make sure that individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and low income families receive the help that they need. If you don’t already have an assigned case manager, one will be appointed to make a determination of services as well as provide you with the correct procedure for requesting Meals on Wheels delivery.
MORE THAN A MEAL
In addition to home-delivered meals, Meals on Wheels of Mercer County provides the following to our meal recipients:
- Nonperishable Groceries
Once each month, MOWMC participants receive a bag of non-perishable items (canned vegetables, fruits, salmon/tuna, soup, juice; cold cereal; potato flakes, etc). These items are courtesy of Meals on Wheels of Mercer County through our partnership with the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.
- Senior Farmers market voucher program:
A five week program in which a select number of participants are eligible to receive fresh, local fruits and vegetables.
- “Blizzard Bags”
A “blizzard bag” is a meal in a ‘zip lock’ bag that is delivered to participants during the winter months in case of inclement weather that may close our office. The purpose of the “blizzard bag” is so participants may have a meal on hand in case of an emergency when we are unable to deliver.
- Nutrition Counseling
Nutrition counseling is available free of charge to the most vulnerable of our participants. If they are identified at initial assessment, they will be contacted by our dietitian for follow-up to ensure they will be eating properly.
- Weekend Meals
To qualify you need to be receiving meals at least two days during the week (Mon-Fri). Please contact our office if you are interested. Weekend meals are delivered along with Friday meals.
- Pet Food
We deliver bi-weekly, specialized pet food bags through our Pet Pantry, for our participants who own furry companions! Meals on Wheels of Mercer County recognizes the importance of these family members in the lives of many of our participants.
- Nutrition Education/Informational Handouts
Once a quarter, Meals on Wheels of Mercer County will distribute information about good nutrition, other senior programs in Mercer County, health/safety tips, etc. to our participants. This is to ensure they are mindful of good eating habits, and that they can avail themselves of other services in the community.
- BOW
The Books on Wheels (BOW) program is a partnership with the Trenton Public Library to distribute library books to our Trenton participants. Participants become card carrying members of the library and have books delivered to them by our volunteers.
- Holiday Meals
For participants who will be alone on Thanksgiving Day, we partner with St. Ann Church in Lawrence to deliver meals to those who will be alone on Thanksgiving Day. Over the Christmas period, an extra meal is provided ahead of time to ensure they have an extra meal over the special holiday period.
To see a sample menu of the month, click the link below
Sample Menu