FY2020
DONOR
IMPACT
REPORT

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Statistics
2020 by the Numbers

COVID-19
Our Community Steps Up

Partner Network
Our Partners

Accounting
Financials

MISSION

To nourish the wellness, purpose and dignity of older adults and their families in our community

VISION

A world that honors people throughout life

A MESSAGE FROM MEALS ON WHEELS ORANGE COUNTY

As we conclude a year like no other, we reflect with gratitude.

We are thankful for our staff, volunteers, community partners and friends and donors like you, who showed resourcefulness, determination and compassion in the face of the unknown. When the senior centers where we provide hot meals and friendly connections through our Lunch Cafés closed in March, we were overwhelmed with calls from older adults who were filled with fear about how and where they would get food. We also received calls from folks who didn’t know about us until the pandemic, but who needed us more than ever.

Letting them go hungry was not an option.

In two days, our teams massively transformed our extensive kitchen operations to safely serve frightened older adults with Grab & Go meals that they could eat in the comfort of their homes. Additionally, demand for our traditional home-delivered meals where a breakfast, lunch, and dinner five days a week are delivered to homebound older adults also rocketed.

In less than a few weeks, we went from serving 15,000 to a mind-boggling 44,000 meals a week!

We needed the community to step up. You did that and more to surpass anything we could have imagined.

For all of this, we are grateful.

The need, however, has remained high. Even when the county’s COVID numbers decreased, the demand was constant. Now, with the coronavirus once again surging through our community, we are working to stabilize our food resource pipelines, adhering to stringent health and safety protocols, and serving thousands more seniors who need meals, and hope.

We are thankful for your support in helping Meals on Wheels OC nourish our at-risk elderly neighbors during these trying and uncertain times. Because of you, we can continue to respond to the constant need of our county’s most vulnerable residents during what is shaping up to be another year filled with uncertainty for the most at risk among us. Through it all, we’ll keep finding ways to serve meals, kindness, love and hope to those who spent their lives doing the same for their families.

Yours in Gratitude,

Holly Hagler and Earle Zucht.

Holly Hagler

CEO

Earle Zucht

Board Chair

By The Numbers

FY2020 IMPACT

2019: SERVED
10,000
People

BY JUNE 2020: SERVED 15,000

2019, SERVED
15,000
Meals per Week

BY JUNE 2020, SERVED
45,000
in One Week

Meals On Wheels OC’s 2020 strategic plan outlined a target to serve 15,000 people per year by 2025 – because of COVID-19 we exceeded this target by mid 2020.

COVID-19 Response

OUR COMMUNITY STEPS UP TO THE PLATE

When COVID-related shutdowns began in March, our teams worked nonstop to change our operations almost overnight. We were overwhelmed at the scale of what had to be accomplished to keep feeding our elderly neighbors as the number escalated week after week. Thankfully, we were approached by nearly sixteen hundred people wanting to give back by volunteering and supported by the county and our 20 city partners ready to provide support and staff to make it all work. THANK YOU.

GRATEFUL TO SERVE

Meals on Wheels OC’s nutritious meals, friendly visits, safety checks and Adult Day Services enable older adults to enjoy hot meals together, maintain wellness, and stay connected. Although we cannot safely gather during COVID-19, we are helping to ease stress and worry until we can sit down together for a meal or visit once again.

“I’m just really glad that Meals on Wheels OC is out there for people like me It’s just mind boggling when you stop to think, they care, they are just the greatest people and they are doing this for me! It’s unreal!“ – Thelma

“I am 76 years old and have asthma. I am isolated because of this COVID-19. Your program is a godsend. I couldn’t make it without people like you!” – Anonymous

“No one was prepared for this to happen, but Meals on Wheels OC has been a blessing. Without them, we just don’t know how we’d survive.” – Wahida

“Without Meals on Wheels OC, the fear about how I’m going to eat or when I’m going to eat would be there. And I do not have that because of them. What a gift.” – Jack

“Meals on Wheels OC is a Godsend – if their service wasn’t around, I don’t know what I would do.” – Elizabeth, Family Caregiver

“WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE COUNTING ON US. HOW CAN WE LET OUR MOST VULNERABLE DOWN IN THEIR GREATEST HOUR OF NEED?”

– Holly Hagler, President & CEO,
Meals on Wheels Orange County

The Well-Being of Seniors Affects Us All

Half of all diseases in older Americans is due to lack of nutrition
1 in 4 low-income older adults in Orange County struggles with hunger
The health risks of prolonged isolation are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day

The Necessity of Meals on Wheels Orange County

Friendly volunteer drivers conduct regular safety checks on over 1200 homebound older adults annually
590,000+ meals are personally delivered each year by caring drivers to homebound older adults
Meals are nutritious, heart-healthy and diabetic friendly

The Dramatic Impact of Meals on Wheels OC

59 percent of Lunch Café participants say their health is improved through the organization’s services
68 percent of Lunch Café participants say they have an improved quality of life
62 percent of Meals On Wheels OC participants experienced a reduction in the length of hospital stays
92 percent of Meals On Wheels OC participants say it lets them remain living at home
87 percent of Meals On Wheels OC participants say it makes them feel more secure

Meals are developed by a registered dietician to provide balanced nutrition and alleviate hunger

Operations

LEVEL HEADS AND HEARTS ALWAYS PREVAIL

The arrival of COVID-19 forced us to respond rapidly in order to continue serving our community’s most vulnerable. When senior centers closed with the March 13 stay-at-home order, we massively transformed our operations and ramped up volume. Where we previously served 1,000 hot meals a day in partner senior centers, we shifted to making and freezing fresh 5,000 meals a day for safely-distanced Grab & Go pickup. And where friendly drivers would normally visit with homebound seniors as they delivered an entire days’ worth of meals, we quickly implemented safety practices for contactless delivery, all while serving 25% more older adults who suddenly needed home-delivered meals.

In a controlled flurry, we began sourcing additional food and putting menus together while adjusting operations to adhere to COVID-19 safety and hygiene protocols. We also added a production line, expanded freezer space at our community kitchen and distribution center, to meet the growing demand for meal distribution at Grab & Go locations.

We couldn’t have asked for a more urgent, yet measured response from our community!

2021 Outlook

PLANNING FULL FUTURES FOR SENIORS

Looking ahead, we are preparing for an equally challenging 2021 as the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19 will linger long after the virus is defeated. The number of at-risk older adults in need of food and social connections will continue to grow. Adults aged 65 or older are the fastest growing age group in Orange County. By 2040, almost one in four people in the county will be over the age of 65*.

As a result of the pandemic, many more food-insecure seniors have connected with us than ever before. Once revealed, hidden hunger cannot be ignored. The number of people we are now serving is unprecedented, and with the community’s help – with your help– we will be able to provide vital nourishment for at-risk older adults who need us.

Meals on Wheels OC set a bold goal in early 2019 to erase hunger and isolation for 15,000 older adults a year by 2025, essentially a 50% increase or 1,000 new clients per year. Due to the increase in demand and financial support during the pandemic, we have already surpassed these targets.

Our 2021 goal is to provide vital nourishment and connections for all who need us now more than ever.

Our success factors include:

MEASURABLE IMPACT

Guarantee innovative and accessible solutions that meet the health and social needs of the diverse communities of older adults in Orange County

SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES

Leverage public and private resources to bridge gaps in responding to the needs of the growing older adult population

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Mobilize a community of advocates to advance systems changes and solutions that nourish older adults throughout life

EFFECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE

Demonstrate daring leadership that bolsters high-performing teams resulting in an effective and efficient organization

*The Orange County Healthy Aging Initiative, 2016

HELP US CONTINUE TO NOURISH HOPE AND WELL-BEING FOR OUR ELDERLY NEIGHBORS

Partner Network

GRATEFUL FOR A NETWORK OF TIRELESS PARTNERS

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

92 percent of every dollar received goes directly to nourishing older adults through the Meals on
Wheels OC programs; this percentage is well above the industry norm of 70-80 percent
600 volunteers contributed 90,000+ hours to our efforts, enabling us to stretch each dollar