Celebrating National Meals on Wheels Day 2020

Council’s loyal band of Meals on Wheels volunteers is helping to maintain regular delivery of meals to around 230 households who rely on the service each week.

Council is recognising the importance of its many volunteers for its Delivered Meals service as part of National Meals on Wheels Day, which is celebrated annually on the last Wednesday in August.

Meals on Wheels is a Council-run Commonwealth Home Support service which provides nutritionally balanced meals to those in the community who have difficulty preparing and cooking their own meals. Meals are delivered to the door in person, Mondays to Fridays, which provides an important welfare component to the service.

Maroondah Mayor, Cr Mike Symon, says that while COVID-19 restrictions have prevented many of Council’s older volunteers from going about their important work delivering meals, National Meals on Wheels Day is an opportunity to recognise their dedication over many years.

“The viability of Council’s Delivered Meals service depends very much on the 85 volunteers who cheerfully and efficiently keep the service running,” Cr Symon said.

Recently, the service has experienced a sharp rise in demand from older residents unable to shop for food while self-isolating at home during the pandemic.

In July 2020, a total of 3,700 meals were delivered to residents in Maroondah who needed extra support - 500 more meals than was delivered for the same time last year.

Cr Symon said that despite losing a portion of its volunteer base due to restrictions on workers aged 70-plus, Council was still able to meet the influx of requests for support and urged anyone wanting to enquire about receiving the service to please phone 1300 88 22 33.

“It is easy to take for granted the luxury of sitting down to a nutritious meal every day, but for some people this daily routine is not so simple, especially in the midst of a pandemic lockdown. The care and wellbeing of our senior and most vulnerable residents remains a priority in this uncertain time,” Cr Symon said.

“We are grateful to our wonderful volunteers who are working hard to ensure the delivery of meals to clients during what is a difficult time for many. We also look forward to welcoming back our other volunteers who are eagerly waiting to return,” he said.

“I also thank our Karralyka kitchen staff who are busily working behind the scenes preparing 3-course meals so that they can be distributed in time to hundreds of clients receiving the service weekly across our city.

“Ordinarily, an estimated 750 Meals on Wheels dishes are delivered to about 250 clients who receive the service – that’s more than 40,000 meals created and delivered every year,” Cr Symon said.

In recent weeks, the protocol for delivering meals has changed. Meals are still delivered daily but are placed down on either a chair or table that Council has requested residents leave beside their front door. Volunteers stand back to greet clients, ensuring that they receive their meals safely.

“Council is taking every precaution necessary to ensure residents are kept safe. This includes not leaving until contact has been made with each and every client,” Cr Symon said.

“For some of our clients, their Meals on Wheels delivery may be the only social contact they have had all day. This important contact decreases social isolation and helps in monitoring the health and wellbeing of our frail and older residents.

“The friendship our volunteers offer when delivering a meal can be just as important to the recipient as the meal itself,” Cr Symon added.

To celebrate National Meals on Wheels Day 2020, each delivery made this week will come with a specially made chocolate brownie.

Meals on Wheels menus offer a choice of four fresh meals 5 days a week, including the option for delivery of frozen meals for weekends and public holidays.

Menus are developed with dietary guidelines and client preferences in mind and also cater to certain dietary requirements, such as diabetes, gluten free and low-fat.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, registrations for Council volunteering are currently on hold. Please stay updated via our Volunteering page for future volunteering opportunities. Council is always pleased to hear from people within the community who are able to offer their help as a Meals on Wheels or Social Support volunteer.

For information about receiving Meals on Wheels, or to find out how you can make a contribution to the community by becoming a volunteer, phone Council on 1300 88 22 33 or visit our