Meals on Wheels People launched a daily vegetarian meal option for Meals on Wheels clients on Jan. 19.
Vegetarian meals have been available at the organization’s 34 neighborhood dining centers for several years, but pre-plated meals for homebound contained more traditional protein sources.
“We are receiving more requests for a vegetable-based diet from our homebound clients,” said Meals on Wheels People Executive Director Suzanne Washington. “We deliver nearly 3,000 meals to homebound seniors daily and about 100 of those have requested an all-vegetarian diet.”
Meals for homebound clients are created at the Meals on Wheels People Central Kitchen in Multnomah Village in Portland and shipped daily to the neighborhood centers where they are heated and sent out for delivery by volunteers.
The number of requests for a vegetarian diet was not high enough to warrant creating a special meal package until recently.
“Baby boomers, who are accustomed to a variety of different menu options, are driving this change,” Washington said. “We anticipate that the number of clients requesting the vegetarian option will double within six months.”
Current Meals on Wheels clients who are interested in switching to a vegetarian meal plan should call their center manager to request a change.
Since 1970 the Meals on Wheels People has provided a nutritional and social lifeline for seniors through 34 meal sites in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties and Meals on Wheels delivery to homebound seniors.
With the help of 8,500 volunteers, the nonprofit organization now serves 5,000 meals daily and 1.2 million meals each year. For more information, visit www.mealsonwheelspeople.org.
