WesleyLife Meals on Wheels

Cause Area

Community
Health & Medicine
Hunger
Seniors
Veterans & Military Families

Location

3206 University AveDes Moines, IA 50311 United States

Website:

https://www.wesleylife.org/meals-on-wheels

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Organization Admin?

Website:
https://www.wesleylife.org/meals-on-wheels

Active Opportunities (3)

Meals on Wheels Friendly Caller

Flexible Schedule | Virtual Opportunity

Thank you for your consideration to become part of the Meals on Wheels Friendly Caller Program! Social connectedness is a critical component of overall well-being - the calls you make help form a network of support around our most vulnerable clients. You will become part of a team, who, on any given weekday, delivers nearly 1,000 healthy, delicious meals to older adults, veterans, and adults with special needs in Polk and Dallas Counties. Along with a hot meal, the team delivers a friendly face and a daily well-being check to each of our participants. A Friendly Caller like you allows Meals on Wheels to provide an added support system to participants who are isolated and often lonely. Your call may support the client’s emotional wellbeing, and give peace of mind to family members who worry about their loved ones, but can’t always be with them. Calls can take place 10:00am-5:00pm, Monday thru Friday. You can establish a regular call schedule with your matched clients on a 1x/week or 1x/month basis. Calls last anywhere from 15-30 minutes long. While the intention of your call is to provide a friendly visit and wellbeing check, often times our clients need help with their monthly menu selections. As part of the Friendly Caller Program, menu assistance is one thing that helps our clients select menu options to ensure they receive meals they will eat and enjoy! We all play an important role in protecting the health, safety, and privacy of our participants, team members, and volunteers. You will receive instructions on how to make sure you're doing your part, and ongoing training can be provided upon request. Contact Tawnya Fields, Meals on Wheels Volunteer Coordinator, for more information: tfields@wesleylife.org (515-238-4568).

Date Posted: 2024-10-15
Meals on Wheels Volunteer Delivery Driver

Flexible Schedule | Des Moines, IA 50311

Every weekday, Wesley Life Meals on Wheels prepares and delivers nearly 1,000 hot, nutritious lunches to homebound older adults, veterans, and people living with disabilities. Our volunteers support this mission by delivering meals directly to those in need, while taking a moment to check in with our participants to make sure they are safe and well. In 2023, WesleyLife Meals on Wheels delivered nearly 360,000 hot meals to older adults, veterans, and people living with physical and mental disabilities. We know that 91% of our clients report eating healthier, and 94% of our clients are able to stay independent in their own homes thanks in part to Meals on Wheels. As a WesleyLife Meals on Wheels volunteer, you will: Promote local food security Provide needed human interaction and social connection Support the physical and mental wellbeing of those we serve Enhance the peace of mind of our participants and their loved ones As a Volunteer Delivery Driver, you will help deliver meals Monday thru Friday to client homes throughout Polk County between the hours of 10:30am and 1:00pm. We have 18 different routes to choose from, all ranging in estimated delivery time and number of clients served. Check out our interactive map of Meals on Wheels Volunteer Routes to find a route that works for you! Contact Tawnya Fields, Meals on Wheels Volunteer Coordinator, for more information: tfields@wesleylife.org (515)229-7467 Apply now at: https://app.betterimpact.com/Application?OrganizationGuid=a120cc0c-7607-4d5d-a83b-6b7ee5a3822c&ApplicationFormNumber=2

Date Posted: 2024-10-15
Meals on Wheels Hydroponic Farm Volunteer

Flexible Schedule | Des Moines, IA 50311

The Meals on Wheels Hydroponic Farm is a 3,000 square foot indoor farm capable of producing 20,000 pounds of leafy greens a year. Our farm provides some of our most at risk populations in the metro a source of fresh healthy greens year-round. We also provide greens to other WesleyLife and local communities. Training will be provided for every task. We do not require a background in gardening or farming, and only ask that you have an open mind and drive to help feed others. Come help us grow nutrition for those who need it most. The tasks on our farm includes: Seeding: This task is what it sounds like, seeding all of our baby plants! This task is good for someone who likes to sit and enjoy the peace that comes with putting a seed in a hole. This is done over 1 to 2 days during the week. Harvesting: This is when our plants begin to become salad! This will include removing rafts from the system and cutting the heads from the roots. There will also be plenty of cleaning and working alongside the packing team as needed. This is done over 1 to 2 days during the week. Packing: The packing process is when our lettuce heads get washed, dried, and packed into bags. Often done in tandem with harvesting, this is the step that prepares our food to go! This is done over 1 to 2 days during the week. Cleaning: The most important of all tasks! Cleaning ensures our facility is both healthy for our plants and those we serve. This includes cleaning hydroponic systems, kitchen ware, floors, walls, etc. This task is done daily and anyone who comes to the farm should be ready to clean. Once you express interest in volunteering at the farm from this listing, you will receive separate communication from Aaron Thormodsen, Meals on Wheels very first farmer. You can also reach out to him directly at athormodsen@wesleylife.org Volunteering at the Meals on Wheels hydroponic farm only takes place Monday thru Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm.

Date Posted: 2024-10-15

Organization Information

Mission Statement

Every day, WesleyLife Meals on Wheels directly supports the health and independence of nearly 1,000 adults in the Des Moines Metro through delivery of nutritious meals to their front doors. We deliver nearly 230,000 meals every year! Here are a few things you should know about us: Our menu offers a wide variety of heart-healthy, low-sodium options. Our dedicated team of drivers and volunteers delivers meals between 10:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, with frozen meals also available for clients to enjoy whenever they please. Our drivers deliver so much more than a meal! They're trained to offer each client a warm "hello!" while checking on his or her safety. Because a driver may be the only person a client sees during the day, he or she can be a vital lifeline in the event of a medical emergency.

Description

The WesleyLife Meals on Wheels history dates back to 1967 when the Des Moines-Polk County (DMPC) Home Care/Homemaker Services program was created with the goal to provide one nutritionally balanced, fresh meal every weekday at noon to help individuals maintain independence.
Meals on Wheels (MOW) serves 800-900 clients each day in Polk County, five-days a week. Employee drivers pick up hot meals from our new campus (3206 University Ave, DSM, IA) where all the meals are prepared, packaged, and ready to be picked up and delivered to client’s individual homes. Drivers deliver anywhere from 20-45 meals in one route. Our goal is to deliver the meals to clients as close to the noon hour as possible, which is where our volunteers come in handy!
We have several apartment complexes with multiple clients (6-21) living in them and receiving meals from us. To assist our drivers with meeting the goal of delivering meals closer to the noon hour, our volunteers deliver meals within those highly populated apartment complexes.
Drivers drop off a hot box, cold box & route sheet to the lobby of the apartment & volunteers hand out the meals to clients within that building. In addition to a hot meal, our clients enjoy the visit and check in from someone each week day. We hope you join on this important mission!

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