Meals For The Elderly provides nutritionally-balanced, home-delivered, weekday, lunch time meals at no cost to the homebound, elderly and disabled citizens in Tom Green, Concho, and Irion Counties, as well as Miles, TX.
In addition to the meal service, we also provide the following services to all recipients on our program:
- Warm, friendly personal contact with volunteers who are genuinely concerned about the recipients' well-being and provide a check in and a smile when they deliver the meal
- Frozen breakfast sacks every Monday
- Sack lunches every Friday, with snacks and food to help during the weekend
- Birthday gifts to each recipient receiving meals from us every year on their birthday
- Heaters in the winter and Fans in the summer by request
- Emergency Meal Bags are given to every recipient twice a year
- These boxes contain three days worth of shelf-stable food, to be saved in case Meals For The Elderly is ever unable to deliver because of inclement weather conditions.
- Recipients recieve an emergency bag in the Spring and Fall
- Access to Case Managers who can provide referral services and evaluate additional needs our recipients may have.
The following services and programs are also available to our recipients that qualify:
- Supplemental Pet food for companion pets
- Additional Milk and Bread
- Incontinence Supplies
- Nutritional Supplements (such as Ensure and Boost)
Home-Delivered Meals
Meals For The Elderly provides nutritionally-balanced, home-delivered noontime meals at no cost to the homebound, elderly and disabled citizens of Tom Green County, Irion County, Concho County & Miles. Meals are typically delivered between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The meals are delivered to the recipient’s door by trained volunteers, who are there to offer a daily check-in and smile along with the meal. We prepare and deliver more than 600 nutritious meals each day right here in San Angelo.
Qualification Criteria
Home-delivered meals are available to people who live in Tom Green County, Irion County, Concho County & Miles, who are primarily homebound, are physically or mentally unable to prepare nutritious meals for themselves, and have no one to help them on a regular basis. Applicants under the age of 65 must provide a doctor's note stating their illness or disability and how it affects their mobility.
There are no income restrictions to be on our program and we do not take or file insurance of any kind. No one is ever approved or denied services based on their ability to make a voluntary contribution toward the cost of the services that they receive.
Case Management
Each recipient and prospective recipient is assigned to a case manager who assesses their needs, coordinates other needed services, and advocates for them with other agencies. All recipients are re-certified for the program on a yearly basis. The case manager is also the recipient's link to accessing and receiving other services within the community.
Our first priority is always providing a nourishing meal, but the case manager also determine if our recipients need additional meals or other services that we can provide or coordinate with other service providers. Recipients are visited in their home at least once a year so that the case manager can assess their environment and ability to live independently. The case managers ask questions related to activities of daily living, nutrition, and physical and mental well being along with what resources (financial and family) recipients have available to help them.
Recipient Services
Our Case Manager and Client Services department help to greatly improve the quality of our clients’ lives, allowing them to live in their own homes for as long as possible. We have Recipients Assistants on staff to take phone calls and answer any questions that recipients may have. They also take reuqests for items such as heaters, fans, or other needs a recipient may have.
When a recipient does not answer their door or cannot be contacted, our Recipient Assistants will try calling the recipient or reach out to the emergency contact on file to make sure they are okay. The health and safety of our recipients is important to us, and we want to make sure each recipient receives that daily check in from our volunteers.
Companion Pet Meals
Years ago, we learned that many of our elderly and disabled clients were not eating all of their nutritious meal, but actually sharing it with their pets! This is a real problem for clients who live on a minimal income and desperately need the full nutritional benefits of our meals, not to mention the fact that our meals are not always healthy for the pets. Clients who have difficulty adequately feeding their cat or dog may receive supplemental pet food for up to two pets at no charge.