Citymeals-on-Wheels
Encyclopedia
Citymeals-on-Wheels is Meals on Wheels
-type nonprofit organization in New York City
that raises private funds to ensure no homebound elderly New Yorker goes without food or human company.
and James Beard
founded Citymeals-on-Wheels in 1981 after reading a newspaper article about homebound elderly New Yorkers with nothing to eat on weekends and holidays. They rallied their friends in the restaurant community, raising private funds as a supplement to the government-funded weekday meal delivery program.
dinner for 6,000 needy elderly at a cost of $35,000, is now an organization now underwriting 3 million meals annually, covering 40% of the costs of all home delivered meals in New York City
, and raises $17.5 million annually.
Weekend Meals - Citymeals contracts with local meal centers to prepare and deliver nutritious meals on Saturdays and Sundays; government funding only covers meals Monday through Friday and not on holidays.
Holiday Meals - Holidays are particularly lonely for our elderly neighbors who may have outlived spouses, friends and sometimes even their own children and yet these are days when government-funded programs used to remain closed. Citymeals funding allows many centers to remain open on holidays for those who are able to walk in and volunteers deliver meals to the homebound. Citymeals funds holiday meals for Rosh Hashanah
, Thanksgiving
, Chanukah, New Year’s Day and Easter
.
Holiday Food Boxes - When local meal centers close throughout the year for holiday observances, Citymeals will guarantee that homebound clients have food. Boxes of shelf stable food and special treats such as canned tuna and chicken, shelf stable milk, cookie, crackers and juices are provided. Citymeals provides holiday boxes for Labor Day
, Season’s Greetings, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Passover
, Memorial Day
and Independence Day
.
Emergency Food Packages - Citymeals-on-Wheels sends a large box of non-perishable food out to each homebound elderly client in late fall to provide security through the winter months. Clients are encouraged to keep some food on hand in case a winter weather emergency keeps regular meals deliveries from getting to them. The additional emergency food packages are sent quarterly to recipients on wait lists and/or second meals clients.
Supper Meals - A joint study with Cornell University
recently identified 14% of Citymeals’ clients as at risk for malnutrition. They do not have the means to supplement their one daily home-delivered meal. Citymeals delivers supper meals to these elderly who are the poorest, frailest and most isolated.
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels are programs that deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programs, not all of which are actually named "Meals on Wheels"...
-type nonprofit organization in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that raises private funds to ensure no homebound elderly New Yorker goes without food or human company.
History
Gael GreeneGael Greene
Gael Greene is an American restaurant critic, author and novelist. She became New York magazine's restaurant critic in fall, 1968 at a time when most New Yorkers were unsophisticated about food and there were few chefs anyone knew by name. She was a passionate early "foodie" before that word was...
and James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
founded Citymeals-on-Wheels in 1981 after reading a newspaper article about homebound elderly New Yorkers with nothing to eat on weekends and holidays. They rallied their friends in the restaurant community, raising private funds as a supplement to the government-funded weekday meal delivery program.
Program Today
What began in 1981 with a group of individuals and a public-private partnership serving ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
dinner for 6,000 needy elderly at a cost of $35,000, is now an organization now underwriting 3 million meals annually, covering 40% of the costs of all home delivered meals in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and raises $17.5 million annually.
Weekend Meals - Citymeals contracts with local meal centers to prepare and deliver nutritious meals on Saturdays and Sundays; government funding only covers meals Monday through Friday and not on holidays.
Holiday Meals - Holidays are particularly lonely for our elderly neighbors who may have outlived spouses, friends and sometimes even their own children and yet these are days when government-funded programs used to remain closed. Citymeals funding allows many centers to remain open on holidays for those who are able to walk in and volunteers deliver meals to the homebound. Citymeals funds holiday meals for Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, Chanukah, New Year’s Day and Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
.
Holiday Food Boxes - When local meal centers close throughout the year for holiday observances, Citymeals will guarantee that homebound clients have food. Boxes of shelf stable food and special treats such as canned tuna and chicken, shelf stable milk, cookie, crackers and juices are provided. Citymeals provides holiday boxes for Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
, Season’s Greetings, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
and Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
.
Emergency Food Packages - Citymeals-on-Wheels sends a large box of non-perishable food out to each homebound elderly client in late fall to provide security through the winter months. Clients are encouraged to keep some food on hand in case a winter weather emergency keeps regular meals deliveries from getting to them. The additional emergency food packages are sent quarterly to recipients on wait lists and/or second meals clients.
Supper Meals - A joint study with Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
recently identified 14% of Citymeals’ clients as at risk for malnutrition. They do not have the means to supplement their one daily home-delivered meal. Citymeals delivers supper meals to these elderly who are the poorest, frailest and most isolated.