So Much More
than a meal

When you donate to Meals on Wheels, you're providing hot, healthy meals to older adults and veterans who need them  ... but that's not all.  

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Volunteer with Client

You're helping to prevent social isolation and save lives, as well.

For many of the recipients of our 1,000 meals a day, their Meals on Wheels driver is the only person they see that day, or even that week. Specially trained to check on clients' well-being, our drivers perform a much-needed service that can enhance emotional well-being. And in fact, these well-being checks save 3-7 lives of our clients annually.

Over 75% of our clients live at or below the poverty level. Many cannot cook or prepare their own meals. Donors like you are supporting their access to both nutritional and social opportunities.

Meals' on Wheels' Impact ... With Your Help


1000+

Hot, nutritious meals delivered each weekday

1850

Clients served in Central Iowa, including 150 military veterans

$9

Your donation to provide one hot, healthy meal and a well-being check

Your donation of $270 fully feeds a financially vulnerable older adult for a month.
Your donation of $1,350 provides 150 meals for food insecure veterans.

Donate Now

The Research Shows


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More than 10,000 older adults in Polk County are food-insecure.

That's 12.5% of the population, a percentage that's continuing to rise.
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41% of older adults in Iowa live below the ALICE threshold.

ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, (and) Employed. The income threshold is $19,560 annually.
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Meals on Wheels lowers hospitalization rates by 39%.

Participant hospitalization rates are 39% lower than those of non-Meals on Wheels participants in the same age cohort. 
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43% of older adults report feeling lonely.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the incidence and severity of social isolation experienced by older adults.
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Nearly 1/3 of people age 65+ live alone.

The majority are women, many of whom spent decades caring for children and other family members. 
Grant Funding-1

Meals on Wheels participation boosts Medicare savings.

When a person starts Meals on Wheels service, their Medicare costs can be expected to decrease by as much as $1,100 within 90 days. 
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Meals on Wheels:
the Reality 

The typical Meals on Wheels participant is a woman age 75 or older who is homebound, lives alone and is not in optimal health. She may lack the financial resources to pay for basic needs, such as nutrition, and a lack of transportation and limited physical mobility also may hinder her access to food.

Prolonged social isolation — for many of our clients, the reality if Meals on Wheels were not an option — is linked to a greater incidence of anxiety and depression. It's also correlated with poor cardiovascular health and decreased cognitive function.

The social interaction and well-being checks provided by Meals on Wheels drivers can be life-changing. Every year since the program's inception, Meals on Wheels drivers have saved lives.

Our New Campus


Thanks to generous donors funding a record-breaking capital campaign, WesleyLife's new Meals on Wheels campus will open its doors in late 2023. The new campus, with a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and hydroponic garden, is designed to triple meal production and  improve the nutritional value of the meals we deliver, and a designated connection space will create and enhance intergenerational opportunities.

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Implementation

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Implementation

Vestibulum rutrum, mi nec elementum vehicula, eros quam gravida nisl, id fringilla neque ante vel mi. Duis arcu tortor, suscipit eget, imperdiet nec, imperdiet iaculis, ipsum.

yarn ball

Implementation

Vestibulum rutrum, mi nec elementum vehicula, eros quam gravida nisl, id fringilla neque ante vel mi. Duis arcu tortor, suscipit eget, imperdiet nec, imperdiet iaculis, ipsum.

yarn ball

Implementation

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Become a Corporate or Community Partner with the Meals on Wheels Adopt-a-Route Program.     Learn More

Make a Donation

 

Tax-deductible charitable contributions

WesleyLife Foundation, an IRS Section 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization, is qualified to receive deductible charitable contributions. Our EIN number is 88-2893273. Charitable contributions are defined as a donation or gift to, and for the use of, WesleyLife Foundation. Gifts are voluntary and are made without receipt of, or promise of receipt of, anything of equal value.

Generally, you may deduct contributions of money or property you make to, or for the use of, WesleyLife Foundation. Consult IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions or your tax advisor on the amount of your deduction.

More from WesleyLife


More than Meals, and then some -- driver saves participant's life

When driver Pam arrived at the home of Meals on Wheels participant Harvey, she couldn't have imagined her visit would be a life-saving one.

Read More

WesleyLife Receives $500,000 Prairie Meadows Grant

WesleyLife earmarks a $500,000 Legacy grant from Prairie Meadows for the development of a hydroponic garden at its new Meals on Wheels campus.

Read More

New Meals on Wheels Campus to Triple Meal Capacity

A new Meals on Wheels campus near Drake University will enable the program to serve three times the number of food-insecure Greater Des Moines residents.

Read More

Make Your Difference

WesleyLife Foundation’s EIN number is 88-2893273