Applying for, and starting to receive our service, is simple. All you have to do is fill out the form in the blue area below, or call our intake department at (716) 822-2002, Monday through Friday, anytime between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Be prepared to provide the following information:
- Full name
- Complete address (apartment number, zip code, etc.) and phone number
- Date of birth
- Marital status
- Name, address and phone number (home and work) of one person who can be contacted in case of emergency
- Physician’s name, complete address and phone number
- Eligibility information—why are home delivered meals needed?
FeedMore WNY Social Workers will then work with the applicant or caregiver to arrange for meal service to begin. Most recipients receive their first meals within a day or two of assessment. More specific information on this will be provided when you call to apply. All efforts will be made to provide meal delivery service as soon as possible.
For our most vulnerable, long-term clients, FeedMore WNY provides meals seven days a week—including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays when the agency is closed. A dietitian will assess whether weekend and holiday meals are needed. For those clients who receive them, weekend meals are delivered frozen on Thursday with the recipients’ regular delivery.
Each fall, FeedMore WNY reminds its home-delivered meal program clients to stock up on emergency foods for the winter months. “Blizzard Boxes” are also assembled, containing a one-day supply of canned goods. The boxes are delivered to participants who are at highest risk and to police stations throughout our service area. In the rare event that service is cancelled due to a severe storm, the police assist in delivering the “Blizzard Boxes.”
Q: What communities does FeedMore WNY's home-delivered meal program serve?
A: Our delivery area encompasses the majority of Erie and Niagara counties. This includes the City of Buffalo and most of the surrounding areas, including: Akron, Angola, Blasdell, Boston, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Colden, Concord, Depew, Derby, East Aurora, Eden, Elma, Evans, Farnham, Hamburg, Holland, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Marilla, Newstead, Orchard Park, Sardinia, Sloan, South Wales, Springville, and West Seneca, as well as Lockport, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, North Tonawanda and the surrounding areas. If you live outside of our service area, we can refer you to the closest/most convenient Meals on Wheels agency.
Q: How are meals delivered?
A: Getting 3,600 meals out to hungry recipients in a timely fashion each and every day is not as easy as the agency makes it look! The process begins bright and early each morning, as the day's meals, expertly planned by FeedMore WNY's dietitians, are cooked and assembled fresh at the agency's commissary. The meals are packed in cold chests and ovens, then driven out to each of the organization's 25 meal-delivery sites across WNY. Several hundred dedicated volunteers take over from there, each delivering meals to 10-12 individuals per day around lunch time.
Q: How is your program funded?
A: The essential work done by FeedMore WNY is made possible by generous financial support from community members, local foundations and corporations, as well as through grants from the federal government, the New York State Department of Health and Office for the Aging, Erie County’s Departments of Senior and Social Services and Niagara County’s Office for the Aging.
Q: What meals are provided?
A: A hot meal at midday and a cold meal for supper are delivered five days a week, Monday through Friday, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Both regular meals and special-diet meals are specially designed to meet the participant’s dietary needs as prescribed by a physician. The hot midday meal contains meat or an alternate, two vegetables or juice, bread, dessert and milk. The cold supper is a sandwich or cold plate, salad or juice, dessert and milk. All meals are prepared fresh on a daily basis.
Q: Are there days that service is not available?
A: All clients are eligible for Monday through Friday delivery. Vulnerable clients are eligible for weekend meals (see section above). FeedMore WNY closes only for the six major holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. A process is in place to make sure that vulnerable clients receive holiday meals prior to a closure.