Meals on Wheels in Central Arkansas
Meals on Wheels serves 2.4 million seniors nationally. Meals on Wheels in Arkansas served 3,395,846 meals to seniors in need last year alone. This crisis spans all demographics and means that many elderly people in your neighborhood have no idea where their next meal is coming from.
The factors that impact food insecurity in Arkansas include financial resources, mobility issues, and access or proximity to grocery stores and healthy food. There are often misconceptions that only financially disadvantaged seniors have to worry about food insecurity, but there are many seniors who have the financial resources to buy food, but they are unable to navigate the kitchen or prepare their meals due to physical or mental disadvantages. If they do not have family members or friends to care for them, they may not get the food they need–or even realize how long it has been since they ate a proper meal.
Who Qualifies for Meals on Wheels?
Home-delivered meals are available through CareLink or one of the Central Arkansas senior centers. Our home-delivered meals are meant to help those unable to leave their homes due to disability, illness, or frailty, and who meet the eligibility requirements. You must be 60 years or older, homebound, and unable to prepare your own meals.
All menus are approved by a registered dietician. They provide one-third of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and comply with Arkansas’ Division of Aging and Adult Services standards.
Our home-delivered meals offer more than just nutrition. The socialization that comes with friendly deliveries can have an enormous impact on an elderly person’s mental well-being and their ability to remain independent or in their own home. The friendly faces and the feeling of support that comes with knowing someone will be checking on you each day makes such a difference in their daily lives.
What You Need to Know
- 92% of seniors believe Meals on Wheels allows them to keep living at home
- 87% of seniors say Meals on Wheels makes them feel safer and more secure
- 83% of seniors think Meals on Wheels improves their overall health
- Hot lunches are served at your local senior center
- If you are eligible home-delivered meals are available at no cost
Find a Meals on Wheels in Central Arkansas
If you or your loved one are interested in Meals on Wheels in Central Arkansas, contact CareLink’s Information and Assistance team. If you have any questions about home-delivered meals, senior center hot lunches, or any of our nutritional programs, just contact us and you’ll be connected to the appropriate resources.
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“The meals have helped me greatly as I care for my bedridden husband. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
– Linda, Maumelle
“Keep the good meals coming.”
– Jimmy, Conway
