In 1975, a small group of community members began delivering hot, home cooked meals to a handful of neighbors who were unable to leave their homes and unable to prepare meals for themselves. The word spread quickly about this small (and mighty!) group of volunteers preparing meals for others, and soon they realized they would need a more formal operation to continue providing this vital service. The volunteers realized they would need a much larger kitchen, a reliable food supply, and many more community members; thus, Meals on Wheels was born!
Since then, Meals on Wheels of Haywood County has been able to serve well over 2,000 individuals in our community. We have a dedicated volunteer base that delivers throughout the week to seniors all over Haywood County! Currently, Meals on Wheels is a program of the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency. This allows us to provide our recipients and those looking for service with timely, freshly prepared, healthy, and nutritious meals designed for seniors.
MISSION & COMMITMENT
The mission of Haywood County Meals on Wheels is to provide nutritious meals, friendly visits, and safety checks that enable homebound seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity while remaining in their home.
Meals on Wheels of Haywood County has been committed to our mission of serving seniors since 1975. Over time we have adapted and changed to sustain and improve the program, and we will continue to do so to for the betterment of those we serve. We are committed to:
- Serving any qualifying community member who needs our services.
- Maintaining, training, and sustaining happy and engaged volunteers.
- Preparing high quality, tasty, and nutritious meals.
- Providing effective communication to ALL who interact with our program - recipients, volunteers, grantors, donors, and community collaborators.
- Delivering an empathetic, effective, efficient, and high quality program to all who come in contact with Meals on Wheels.
This commitment is key to the effectiveness and success of our program. With your help, in combination with our dedicated team of volunteers, we will be able to uphold this commitment for decades to come.
2024 GOALS
Without the wonderful community members here in Haywood County, our program would be unable to continue providing this vital service to our senior neighbors. Currently, we are serving over 100 Haywood County seniors, and have many waiting to start service! Our goals for 2024 are to:
- Return to delivering meals 5 days of the week.
- Decrease the amount of time seniors spend on the waitlist.
- Increase the additional services available to our recipients.
- Intentionally connect with each and every recipient.
These goals will only be realized with the collective support of our community members. Whether you are able to spare a couple hours to deliver or a couple dollars to buy someone's meal, YOU can help feed seniors in Haywood County. Join us in the fight to end food insecurity for seniors across America!