Mission

Our Mission: To enhance the quality of life for seniors, people with disabilities and other eligible citizens in our community who are unable to provide proper nutrition for themselves.

Our Vision: To have the capacity to ensure that any member of our community who needs our services will receive them.

What We Do

Established in 1975, Meals on Wheels of Durham, Inc. delivers hot, nutritious meals to Durham County residents who are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves. Since its inception, Meals on Wheels of Durham, Inc. has served more than 1.75 million meals.
Most of our clients receive food 5 days a week. In addition, we deliver week-end meals to a portion of those people. Clients who are not home every day - like people on dialysis - receive one delivery each week. This delivery contains food for the entire week. People leaving a rehab facility, or coming home from the hospital, can sign up for our Emergency Meal program. This program provides food for a 2 week period, enabling these people to convalesce in the comfort of their own home. MOW also insures that all of our clients have on hand two shelf stable meals. In the event of weather that won't allow us to deliver, our clients are instructed to eat those meals. We bring more than food to our clients. This past year, we delivered fans to people without air conditioning. Members of the community donated pet food for our clients with cats or dogs. At Christmas time, we delivered at least 2 donated gifts to everyone. Handmade centerpieces and ornaments were also donated and delivered. In October, we celebrated fire safety month by checking for working smoke detectors. Our volunteers changed batteries where necessary. We notified the fire department of homes without detectors, and they installed them for us. We have also delivered donated toiletries, books, magazines, blankets, hats and gloves. Our clients' birthdays are celebrated with a card and special treat.
In response to feedback from our drivers, we call emergency contacts or social workers an average of twice a week to report a client with health issues. We contact 911 an average of once a month due to health emergencies, and have been told each time that a client's life was saved due to this intervention.