Meals on Wheels of Chester County (MOWCC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which is funded in part by the Chester County Department of Aging Services as well as private and corporate donations.  All donations are 100% tax deductible.

Meals are delivered to anyone, regardless of age or economic status, who is homebound, handicapped or convalescing from an illness or operation and unable to prepare a nutritious meal for themselves.

Meals on Wheels helps our Chester County homebound residents to:

Live life with dignity

History
Meals on Wheels of Chester County began in 1971. At that time, only residents within the borough of West Chester were served.  The organization was incorporated in 1991 and since then has grown to include 20 chapters which serve approximately 600 of our homebound neighbors.

Purpose
The purpose of the program is to provide persons who are homebound with a nutritionally balanced meal (1/3 RDA) around noontime five days a week.  We rely strictly on volunteers who are friendly, caring and offer relief from the social isolation that so often affects the homebound.

Current Status
Twenty chapters have been established across the county since Meals on Wheels of Chester County began in 1971.  Today there are approximately 33 routes that serve meals  Monday through Friday at noontime.  MOWCC is a member of the Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) which is the national organization located in Alexandria, Virginia.  MOWAA  provides training conferences, networking and information sharing with other Meals on Wheels groups across the country.  It also lobbies for legislation to provide funding and to benefit people who need home delivered meals.

Frozen Meals
Cases of frozen food (containing five different meals per box) are available at the main office in West Chester.  These meals are especially helpful to people who need more than the one meal per day, people who need meals on weekends, and people on our hot meal delivery waiting list.  There are six different cases of frozen meals to choose from and menus may be obtained from the main office.

Emergency Meals
Each winter, Chester County Cares provides us with the funds to purchase emergency meals.  These shelf stable meals are given to all current recipients.  In the event of bad weather when a volunteer is unable to deliver meals, our homebound clients will have this emergency food on hand to help them get by until delivery of meals can resume.

Funding
Meals on Wheels of Chester County is funded in part by the Chester County Department of Aging Services as well as by individual and corporate donations.  Several United Way programs within the state of Pennsylvania and in other states support MOWCC through designated donor choice options.  Also, the Board of Directors conducts an annual Meal Fund Drive.

Mayors for Meals
Mayors for Meals is a national awareness program started in 2006 by the Meals on Wheels Association of America.  Chester County participates in this event every March.  It has been very successful in creating a greater public awareness of the large number of hungry seniors in our community.  National and local media cover the event and a large number of public officials participate year after year.  On this special day, our Chester County Commissioners, many of the county’s mayors, and other community representatives volunteer to deliver meals in several chapters.  It is a rewarding experience and brightens the day for both our civic leaders and our homebound neighbors.