Prior to April 2020, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland (MOWCM) delivered one hot and one cold meal to each home-delivered meal program client five days a week. To protect clients and volunteers during the pandemic while keeping up with exploding demand, we transitioned to delivering frozen meal boxes once a week.
After months of careful planning and with maintained safety pre-cautions (social distancing, masks, cleaning procedures), we officially “Unboxed” on July 6th, returning to daily deliveries of hot and cold meals. This process has not been easy, and we couldn’t have done it without our volunteers stepping up to the challenge.
Along with this transition came the introduction of ServTracker’s Mobile Meals app across our service area. ServTracker, a cloud-based HIPAA compliant software enables us to manage, track, and report all areas of client services. Mobile Meals allows us to respond in real time-volunteers input information regarding missed meals, client concerns or changes in the client’s condition. Client Services can then immediately address these concerns, often preventing a crisis or emergency.
Thomas Tasker, Annapolis Site Coordinator says, “Mobile Meals has been an extraordinary tool for volunteers to use and the majority of volunteers have taken it in stride. Now with the transition back to hot and cold, the clients love the fresh, hot meal every single day and we’re able to make sure they’re doing okay with the app.” Sharon Hurd, Assistant Director of the Home-Delivered Meal Program shares similar sentiments, “The daily deliveries are really helpful to our clients, it gives them comfort in seeing someone every day and helps us check-in on them. Mobile Meals brings a new level of efficiency, and we can respond to issues more quickly than ever before. This is especially vital for our client population who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic.”
We are proud of our work during the pandemic and beyond and look forward to what the Fall brings. At the heart of our work are our volunteers, who are needed now more than ever. We are offering flexibility in delivery to better fit within a busy schedule. Email volunteer@mowcm.org or visit www.mealsonwheelsmd.org/volunteer/ to learn more.