Meals on Wheels of NEPA

Historically, some of the
earliest reports of home meal delivery was during the Blitzkrieg of London in
World War II. Women would prepare and distribute food in baby strollers to
those in need, including soldiers, rescue workers, and residents made homeless
by the bombings. A group in Philadelphia learned about this heroic work from
soldiers returning from the War. In January 1954, the Philadelphia group became
the first to provide home delivered meals to seniors on a regular basis. In the
1950s and 1960s the unmet nutritional needs of the elderly population were
getting much attention in Congress. One of the advocates of services for older
adults was the founder of Meals on Wheels of NEPA, Sara Casparo.

Founded in
1969, Meals on Wheels of Northeastern PA was one of the pioneering agencies
funded under the Older Americans Act of 1965 to provide nutritional services to
home-bound older adults. From its humble origin in the West Scranton Hospital building, to the purchase and development of the Weinberg Human Services Building in 1984, the agency has evolved over the last 56 years to become
the major provider of nutritional services to the elderly and disabled
population of Northeastern Pennsylvania, nourishing approximately 1,000
individuals daily across six counties: Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne. 

But here at Meals
on Wheels of NEPA, we deliver so much more than a meal to those in need. We have worked hard to develop an umbrella of community health initiatives to
address the evolving needs of the community we serve. Collectively, our home
delivered supportive services holistically embrace older adults to promote
independence and safe aging within the community. These community health initiatives include:

• 
  Fast Track Home from the Hospital Program: Provides 20 meals free of service to Lackawanna County residents discharged from a healthcare facility. In 2024, we delivered 5,400 meals to 319 recently discharged individuals at no charge.


• 
  Community Health Outreach and Meal Program (CHOMP): Provides weekly light housekeeping and socialization to older adults referred by the Area Agency on Aging. 


• 
  Treasured Friends Furever Pet Program: Provides a monthly delivery of pet food and supplies to meal recipients. Expanded in 2024 to include access to veterinary care including appointment coordination, transportation, and free vet care for their pets. In 2024, we helped 122 older adults provide 2,200 deliveries of pet food. We provided transportation and veterinary care for 48 pets.

Within
the past decade, Meals on Wheels as an organization has doubled in size.
The number of meals produced annually has more than tripled, and the number of
older adults served has doubled. 

Our
collective vision is to readily adapt to the evolving needs of the community as
a role model and innovative leader that prioritizes collaboration to serve our
community. The agency's journey towards this vision is guided by the principle
of service to our community with compassion, kindness, and respect. 

This year, we have BIG plans! We are planning a move to a new, high efficiency location in South Scranton. This costly project is vital to our provision of services, and we need your help to make the move happen.

Your support of Meals on Wheels of NEPA, ensures we can continue to provide meals, socialization, housekeeping, and pet support. 

Who We Are

The Mission of Meals on Wheels of NEPA is to provide nutritious, well-balanced meals to homebound, elderly and/or disabled people throughout Lackawanna County.

Meals on Wheels of NEPA is committed to offering support for the independent living of homebound seniors and disabled persons in need through the delivery of nutrition and support services. In order to carry out our mission, we strive to accomplish the following:

1. Provide relief from hunger for the elderly and disabled,
2. Decrease onset of disease with good nutrition, and
3. Increase home-based support to delay or prevent expensive institutional care.

Meals on Wheels of NEPA is currently experiencing increases in costs of food, sanitation supplies, and staffing costs. Non-operational staff is working from home, while operational staff is many days, working overtime. The agency has had to reconfigure hours and staffing, in order to meet the daily needs of the elderly and homebound that we are serving.

Staff and volunteers have been wonderful, following extra sanitation procedures, and working extra hours to make sure the meals get out, the cases are sanitized, and every part of the kitchen is clean, safe, and sanitized. We have had to spend extra time creating new volunteer lists, calling and health and safety screening potential volunteers, and the response, luckily, has been outstanding.

Isolation for the senior population, already at a critical peak, is increased during the COVID-19 pandemic...