Our Services

We deliver more than a meal every weekday!

Please review all information prior to completing an interest form. Click the following links to jump to a specific section. 

Overview

Meals on Wheels Orange County NC delivers hot, nutritious meals accompanied by friendly check-ins, Monday-Friday in southern Orange County and Monday-Thursday in northern Orange County (with an additional meal on Thursday to cover Friday). 1 in 5 seniors in NC are food insecure and 1 in 7 in Orange County live at or below the poverty line, and more are isolated or lonely. A hot meal and a friendly check-in are a lifeline to our recipients, offering sustenance, security and community. Meals on Wheels supports the efforts of older adults, homebound adults, and those convalescing to age in place with dignity. 
 
Volunteers deliver meals between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm. Recipients must be home during delivery to receive a meal.
 
For recipients who are not able to be home each day during delivery due to medical appointments, dialysis, or rehab, Meals on Wheels can deliver a box of 5 frozen meals once a week. The recipients receiving these meals need the ability to heat the meals in a microwave.

Eligibility

MOWOCNC serves older adults, homebound adults, older adults with disabilities and those convalescing in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and rural Orange County, who do not have access to, or the ability to prepare, healthy meals. People of all incomes may be eligible. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin. 

Basic Requirements

  • 60 years of age or older
  • Homebound due to age, illness, frailty, disability or other physical or mental impairment
  • Unable to shop for groceries or prepare nutritious meals independently. 

Spouses of eligible individuals and individuals with disabilities living with an eligible older adult may also qualify. 
 

Defining Homebound   
Meals on Wheels considers someone to be homebound if they have difficulty leaving their home without assistance due to physical or mental illness, injury, disability, or other limitations, and lack adequate support to do so. This includes those who are unable to attend regular social activities like senior centers or congregate meal programs. 
 
Homebound persons may include those that:
    •    Need the help of another person or medical equipment (wheelchair/walker)
    •    Special transportation
    •    Whose health or illness could worsen if they leave their home.
    •    Find leaving their home difficult and typically cannot do so.
    •    Experience extreme difficulty with daily living functions.
    •    Face challenges with mobility due to conditions like functional disabilities, cognitive impairment, or chronic medical conditions.
    •    Require assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, toileting,  bathing, and dressing. 
 
Important Note: Being homebound doesn't necessarily mean being confined to bed. Individuals may still be considered homebound even if they can leave their home occasionally for medical appointments or other important reasons, as long as leaving requires “considerable and taxing effort”. 

Under limited circumstances MOWOCNC may serve adults under 60 years of age. Contact operations@mowocnc.org or 919-942-2948 ext. 1 for details.

Fees

MOWOCNC does not receive federal block grant funding. We run as a fee for service organization on a sliding scale based on a client's income. Eligibility for Meals on Wheels is not dependent on a recipient’s ability to pay.  

Meals

In partnership with Inter-faith Food Shuttle, MOWOCNC is proud to deliver meals that are both heart-healthy and diabetic-friendly. Heart-healthy meals help prevent, and ease the management of, heart disease by limiting sodium intake to 1200 mg or less per meal, following American Heart Association recommendations. Diabetic-friendly meals offer 5-6 carb exchanges per meal to help manage blood sugar levels, in-line with recommendations of the American Diabetes Association. Each carb exchange equals approximately 15 grams of carbs.

Click here to see a sample menu.

Apply

Click Apply for Meals to apply or refer a recipient. Potential clients will be contacted within one week.

Questions

Contact operations@mowocnc.org or call (919) 942-2948