Our mission at Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville/Albemarle is simple yet profound: provide a hot, nutritious meal and a vital wellness check to our community’s most vulnerable.
With each delivery, we offer a lifeline of care, community, and connection to those who struggle to access or prepare food for themselves.
What we do
Meals on Wheels strives to improve the health and support the independence and dignity of our homebound neighbors, and has been doing so since 1977. We currently have an active volunteer force of over 400 and serve meals to approximately 275 clients in the city of Charlottesville and the county of Albemarle.
Meals are prepared under the supervision of a registered dietitian, and each client's dietary needs are met. Medically appropriate diets that are available include diabetic, renal, sodium-restricted, heart-healthy, vegetarian, and soft or pureed food.
Meals on Wheels provides a source of daily social contact for people who would otherwise be alone. It also allows for earlier release from hospitals and long-term care facilities and helps keep elderly and disabled persons out of institutions altogether. It can help older married couples to remain together and gives many people the opportunity to live in their own homes for longer periods of time. Because volunteers check on meal recipients every day, people who live alone can feel safe, knowing that someone would notice if anything were to happen to them.
As an independent, local organization, Meals on Wheels receives a very small percentage of state and federal funding for its operating budget. For the most part, Meals on Wheels relies on contributions from individuals, businesses, and organizations in our community to support its home-delivered meals program. Some clients can pay the full cost of their meals and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) and InnovAge PACE each provide subsidies for a small number of clients who meet their eligibility requirements, However, the vast majority of our clients receive meals paid for through community contributions made directly to Meals on Wheels.
“Thank you for just being who you are; really sweet and good hearted people. The handwritten card touched me. I cried happy tears.”
what we do beyond delivering meals
Deliver our “Bonus Pantry Packs” which include several days' worth of nonperishable food from our community partner, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Give out birthday cards and gifts for clients on their birthday
Deliver fresh produce to clients once a month through the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Work with the Book Mobile to bring library books to our clients
Celebrate the holidays by giving out Holiday Gift Bags in December
Partner with local restaurants to provide supplementary meals to clients each month
Deliver pet food to clients with cats and dogs
Provide a source of daily contact and interaction to those who might otherwise be alone