Meals on Wheels Organization Planning Paper Example

1.0 Overview

"Meals on wheels"is a non-profit making organization that runs the program of delivering meals to individuals at their homes. The program is meant for individuals who are unable to purchase or prepare their meals at homes such as the elderly people, the sick and the disabled individuals. In other words, "meals on wheels" is a home-delivered meal program that offers services of course at a small fee. Meals on wheel program is not a new term, but it has its roots in the United Kingdom during the Second World War when there was the German bombing of Great Britain the time when many people lost their homes, and thus, they could not cook their food. There was the women volunteer service for the defense forces that cooked meals and supplied to the homeless people (Missoulaagingservices.org, 2015). This program spread all over the world and in the modern days, meals on the wheels programs are almost everywhere in the world, but they much focus on delivering food to the elderly people in the society who cannot cook their meals(Talentrecruitmentsolutions.com, 2017).

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Meals on wheel America like other such organizations elsewhere prepare and deliver food to the American elderlies and sick persons who are not in a position to be regularly preparing their meals. This organization realized that hunger is a serious threat to millions of elderly Americans and thus, came up with a remedy for preparing good meals and delivering to these group of people at least once a day(Missoulaagingservices.org, 2015). Meals on wheel association of America Foundation (MOWAAF) in 2007 carried out a study on the causes and effects of hunger in elderly persons. The study found that about 5 million elderly Americans or about 11% of the elderly population tend to experience some sort of food insecurity because they cannot go to the market daily to purchase their meals or they do not have enough resources to buy good meals daily(Thai, n.d).

Moreover, the study established the elderly individuals living alone are twice more likely to experience hunger than their counterparts who are married or are living with the family members (Thai, n.d). Therefore, it is this realization that made Meals on wheel America to strengthen its program at least to assist the needy and elderly people in the society so that they cannot suffer from hunger. The later evaluation of the meals on wheels program has confirmed that this program has had a great positive impact on the targeted group (Sudburymeals.org, 2014).

First, this program has significantly improved the diet quality for the elderly individual. When people age, they find it difficulties in cooking their meals to include all the components required. What most of the people do is just to cook any kind of meal to get satisfied. However, with this program, the cooks of these meals are professionals guided by the nutritionists and thus, they cook the right meals that fit the age being targeted(Missoulaagingservices.org, 2015). Therefore, the elderly people who are under this program always get a well cooked and balanced diet meal on a daily basis and this has a great positive impact on their health.

Secondly, the delivered meals increase the nutritional intake. All the nutrients required for the elderly persons are included in the meals, and thus, the food is of high value to the users. Thirdly, the delivered meals reduce the risk of food insecurity among the elderly people. Aged people in the society who have little resources to aff0rd decent meals have a chance to eat quality meals at the courtesy of this program (Thai, n.d). Another benefit of this program is that it has increased the socialization opportunities in that the aged people have a chance to interact with other people especially those who deliver the meals and this generally boosts their health.

Mission statement: to facilitate, guide and support the services provided to members to enable them to provide to the community more than just a meal.

Vision statement: Meals on wheel seeks to be collaborative in the delivery of balanced diet and even affordable food to individuals in need and also facilitate for them a point of contact within the health system.

Value statement: To meet our purpose and attain out vision through upholding, care, respect, integrity, collaboration, and positivity.

2.0 Strategic priorities

• Setting and maintaining standards of high-quality meals
• Minimizing the costs or the meals for the clients to be able to aff9rd
• Working with other organizations to develop a coordinated system that serves people better(Eurobodallamealsonwheels.com, 2018).
• Strict monitoring of meals quality and rectifying where there is a problem.

3.0 Industry competitive analysis

Political- Meals on wheels operate in a more sensitive industry which the food industry. The food industry is highly regulated by the government with various policies and laws. Firms in this industry tend to encounter different challenges in the regulation due to the change in the political system. When the new administration comes to power, certain rules and changes are affected(Eurobodallamealsonwheels.com, 2018). Meals on wheel organization being one of the organizations in the industry get challenged with some of the changes brought about by different political systems. In other words, its functions vary with time and according to the political wishes of those in power.

Economic - Food industry is quoted competitively since the hoteliers and restaurants are operating in the same industry. The firms in this industry compete to win more customers to come for their services. Because Meals on wheels is a non-profit making organization and is operating in such a competitive industry, it has just to strive to maintain the high quality of services and to provide quality meals to the clients so that it can retain them. Some elderly individuals who have enough resources look for these services elsewhere they think that they will get even better meals.

Social- Apart from delivering meals to the clients, Meals on wheels provide socialization opportunities to the clients. Given that the targeted group is made up of the elderly people, this group socializes less since these people always stay at their homes and thus, they have little chances of meeting other people (Sudburymeals.org, 2014). When the volunteers from the Meals on wheel come to deliver food, they interact and share various issues, and this improves their social wellbeing(Talentrecruitmentsolutions.com, 2017). This socializati9on scores more points for meals on wheels compared to hotels and restaurants.

Technological- Meals on wheel organization use various technologies to run its program. The organization serves thousands and thousands of clients and thus, to keep a record and also to identify where these clients are, the organization uses technology. Technology is also used in the delivery of food. Food is transported using various means such as motorbike, vans and even bicycles (Eurobodallamealsonwheels.com, 2018). When delivering food to clients who are a bit far, more efficient means are used to transport. Meals on wheels are always adopting new technologies that can improve its service delivery. Without technology, this organization could not have come to this far; technology is making it be efficient and thus competing effectively with other firms in the industry.

Legal- Food industry is highly regulated, and there are many laws that organization operating in this industry ought to adhere to. The most important is the quality standards of food(Talentrecruitmentsolutions.com, 2017). Firms that sell food are required by law to sell quality food above the set standards. This law is there to ensure that the consumers are protected from being sold the poor quality of food that could harm them.

4.0 Market globalization

Meals on wheels as stated earlier are practiced in nearly every part of the world. It has its presence in Australia, UK, Canada, US and many other countries. However, the mode of regulations varies due to the differences in the regulatory and legal systems from one country or region to another. Thus, Meals on wheel America serves only the American people.

5.0 Internal environment

Financial Resources-Meals on wheels America is a no profit making organization thus, making a profit is not its main objective. The organization is financed by well-wishers, and it aims to serve the purpose of supporting the elderly people in the society to live a comfortable life free from hunger (Eurobodallamealsonwheels.com, 2018). The organization has strong financial muscles and this is why it can offer meals to many clients at an affordable price.

Supply chain- The organization sources raw food directly from farms and markets. Fresh food is prepared considering the requirements of the aged individuals and distributed by its agents most of them who volunteers to do so on bikes and vans.

6.0 Strategic initiatives

Provision of three or more different services such as meal delivery and social services

Forming alliance with more than two meals on wheels organizations in different neighboring regions (Talentrecruitmentsolutions.com, 2017).

Reviewing the management practices to identify the areas to improve service delivery

Training the volunteers so that they when delivering food, they do it with integrity to uphold the image of the organization.

7.0 100-day plan action

Reaching to more needy clients who have never been reached by penetrating the remote areas.

Forming an alliance with the one or two organizations in the neighboring regions to boosts service delivery

Recruitment of more than half new volunteers to boost service delivery

Liaising with new organizations that can find the initiative

Training the recruited volunteers to understand the values and purpose of the organization for better service

References

Eurobodallamealsonwheels.com. (2018).Meals on Wheels. Retrieved from http://www.eurobodallamealsonwheels.com.au/images/fliers/strategicplan.pdfMissoulaagingservices.org. (2015).

Strategic Plan 2015-2019. Retrieved from https://missoulaagingservices.org/downloads/Public_Strategic_Plan_FINAL_82015.pdfSudburymeals.org. (2014).Annual Report 2013/2014. Retrieved from https://sudburymeals.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Meals-On-Wheels-Sudbury-Annual-Report-2014.pdf

Talentrecruitmentsolutions.com (2017).Community Support Connections Meals on Wheels and More - Executive Director.Retrieved from

http://talentrecruitmentsolutions.com/cscmowedThai, J. (n.d). An interview with Don Miller of Meals on Wheels America. Retrieved from https://wavelength.asana.com/interview-don-miller-meals-wheels-america/