FAQs

Meals on Wheels of Wake County provides nutritious meals to people 60 years old and over who are homebound and/or disabled or would otherwise be unable to maintain a balanced meal. Meals on Wheels seeks to provide nourishment, both physical and social, to homebound individuals in Wake County.

VOLUNTEERING FOR MEALS ON WHEELS

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver hot meals to senior and disabled neighbors between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. We do not deliver on the weekends. Each route has about 8 to 12 stops and takes approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Volunteers pick-up the meals in thermal bags and coolers at one of our 12 convenient pick-up locations located throughout Wake County. From there they make the deliveries. Each route comes with complete, turn by turn directions to each stop. When the deliveries are complete the volunteer returns the thermal bags and coolers to the pick-up location.

Fill out the Volunteer Application to get started with volunteering. 

That’s not a problem! Many of our volunteers come just one day per month. If a group from an office or church sign up, they often rotate the delivery, so it may turn out that you only deliver a few times a year. The pick-up and delivery process take approximately 60 to 90 minutes and occurs between 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

We deliver meals throughout Wake County, including the following towns: Cary, Apex, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Raleigh, Zebulon, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Morrisville, Wendell, and Knightdale.

Meals on Wheels does not deliver meals on the following days: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Holiday, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, 4th of July, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas.

Meals on Wheels of Wake County will make the decision to close for inclement weather no later than 6 am on the bad weather day. Volunteers and clients will be notified as soon as possible.

MEALS ON WHEELS SERVICES

To be eligible for our home-delivered meals program, you must be 60 years of age or older, reside In Wake County, and have a chronic disability that prevents you from shopping for food and/or preparing meals to meet your daily nutritional needs.

Individuals under 60 may qualify if certain criteria are met- see our Application for Services to learn more.

Those interesting in paying for their meals can pay a cost of $4.75 for each meal. Clients are served meals regardless of their ability to pay the costs.

Meals are delivered to homes by a Meals on Wheels volunteer or staff member every Monday through Friday between 10:30am and 12pm.

Our meals are served Monday through Friday. The volunteers aim to deliver to the home between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

No, we do not serve special diet meals, however many of our clients can adapt our menu to their daily dietary needs. Our meals are made fresh daily, and meet strict guidelines.  Every hot meal serves as 1/3 of the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and nutrients for a senior. Each meal provides at least 700 calories, and does not exceed 1,300 mg. of sodium. Each meal contains one lean protein, one starch, one vegetable, one fruit or fruit juice, fresh bread, and 2% milk. Meals have no added sugar or salt. 

You, or a family member or caregiver, can fill out the Application for Services here. For those who need their application taken over the phone, please call (919)833-1749 Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 11:30 am.

Typically the application process takes 2 to 3 weeks. Several factors, such as where you live in Wake County, the current waiting list, and the availability of routes and volunteers, need to be taken into account on a case by case basis.

Reach out to the Site Manager for the Friendship Cafe location you wish to attend. 

GENERAL QUESTIONS

All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Meals on Wheels is a 501©(3) non-profit organization.

Our meals are prepared at the kitchen facility at 1001 Blair Drive in Raleigh. From there they are dispersed to the pick-up locations and dining rooms located throughout the county.

Our main office and kitchen facility are located at 1001 Blair Drive, Raleigh, NC.

We also serve lunch in nine Friendship Cafes located throughout the county. 

Volunteers can pick up meals at one of our many pick-up sites.