Volunteer delivering meals

Deliver Nutrition and Independence

Looking for volunteer opportunities in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area that make a big difference in the lives of your neighbors? Look no further than volunteering with Meals on Wheels. Deliver meals over the lunch hour or sign up for a shift in our kitchen and know you are doing your part to bring nutritious food and a social connection to your neighbors.

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  • Meal delivery

    Deliver Meals

    Dedicate your lunch hour to making your neighbors’ day by delivering meals.

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  • Kitchen icon

    Volunteer at the Kitchen

    Help with the packaging and preparation of meals for your neighbors by picking up a 2-hour shift at our kitchen.

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    Participate in an Event

    Check out our events calendar for events supporting Meals on Wheels.

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    Sign Up to Volunteer

    Ready to get started as a volunteer? Simply complete a short form to help us get you to the right place.

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  • Helping hands

    Other Ways to Get Involved

    Make placemats, decorate bags or make birthday cards for meal recipients. Or host a fundraiser to support Meals on Wheels.

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    Get updates on events, volunteer opportunities and other Meals on Wheels news.

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Deliver Meals

Delivering meals is a simple and rewarding way to help seniors and people with disabilities in need of hot meals and a daily visit from a friendly face, and you can do it over lunch! All you need to do is sign up, and you’ll be connected with your neighborhood Meals on Wheels program to get started.

When you volunteer for Meals on Wheels during your lunch hour, you’re doing your part to guarantee meals are delivered to the more than 4,000 people in need across the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. You can volunteer to deliver meals once a week, once a month, with a friend, with a group or on your own – whatever works best for you!

Delivering meals is also a great social activity – you can do it with a friend or a group and you’ll get to know your neighbors who also deliver. And you’ll leave knowing the eight to 10 people on your route received the nourishment and personal connection they need.

Sign up today to deliver meals and know you’ll make an immediate impact on the lives of recipients in your neighborhood. If you have questions, see the list of frequently asked questions, email [email protected] or call (612) 623-3363 for more information.

Sign Up to Deliver Meals

FAQs for Individual Volunteers

fill out the online volunteer form or call us at (612) 623-3363 and we will refer you to your local program.

Volunteers drive to the program site, pick up 8-10 meals stored in easy-to-carry thermal packs, and deliver them to residences using a route designed by the program. You will receive detailed driving and delivery directions – no preparation is necessary. Once your route is finished, you will return the supplies to the program site.

Delivery routes are designed to take no longer than one hour. For most people, it’s easy to deliver meals during the lunch hour.

Meals are generally delivered between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

As often as you would like! Many of our volunteers choose one day a week or one day a month to deliver meals. Commit to a frequency you are comfortable with, and you can always decide to deliver more often in the future

Yes! Delivering meals is a great social activity that you can do with a friend or a larger group. It’s also common for church, social or workplace groups to organize delivery teams. Learn more about how to start a Workplace Delivery Team.

Even if you are volunteering alone, you can request to be paired with another volunteer for your route. If you’re a new volunteer, it can be helpful to go with someone who has delivered before.

With 35 delivery locations throughout the Twin Cities area, chances are there’s a program that’s close to your home or work.

Volunteers bring the meal to each recipient’s door. Part of the fun of delivering is visiting with recipients but it is important to keep visits brief enough for you to complete your route on time. If you find that your recipient needs additional help, you can contact your program coordinator.

While finding volunteers to fill delivery routes is our biggest need, there are other ways to get involved. Here’s a list of our other volunteer opportunities.

More Volunteer Opportunities

While delivering meals is our biggest volunteer need, there are other ways to volunteer with Meals on Wheels.

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Additional Volunteer Opportunities - Meals on Wheels

Volunteer at the Kitchen

Want to play a role in getting nutritious meals to seniors and people with disabilities in our community? Volunteering at the kitchen is a great way to help!

Our meals are produced at Open Arms of Minnesota’s kitchen in South Minneapolis. Volunteers are needed to help with tasks such as wrapping bread rolls, chopping vegetables, scooping cookie dough, and assembling meals for daily delivery. Volunteers play a key role in enabling the kitchen to produce up to 2,500 meals per day for people in need.

If you are looking for a way to volunteer with Meals on Wheels that doesn’t rely on operating a vehicle, this is a great opportunity. There are kitchen shifts available between 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Please sign up on Open Arms’ Volunteer Hub for a MPLS Kitchen Shift.

If you have questions, please contact Erin at [email protected].

FAQs for Kitchen Volunteers

Volunteers check in at the beginning of their shift at the kitchen where they’ll be given a list of tasks for the day. Common kitchen tasks include, but are not limited to, wrapping bread rolls, chopping vegetables, packaging soup, scooping cookie dough, and assembling meals for daily delivery.

Kitchen shifts are available Monday through Saturday. Sign up for a time that’s convenient for you and you can work with your volunteer manager to schedule regular shifts on an ongoing basis.

Shifts are 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the time of day you choose.

Yes! The number of openings are posted on each shift. Email [email protected] with questions about accommodating your group.

The kitchen is located at 2500 Bloomington Ave. in Minneapolis. Parking is available in the lot located south of the building.

Open Arms asks that upon arrival for your first volunteer shift you arrive 15 minutes early so that you can receive a tour of the kitchen, learn about safety procedures, and fill out some paperwork.

You must wear flat, closed-toe shoes in the kitchen. Please leave jewelry at home including watches, and don’t wear sleeveless tops, shorts, or loose fitting clothing items that could interfere with the food preparation. If you have longer hair, you can wear a hat or bandana, or a hairnet will be provided.

Whether you are a new or returning volunteer, you can sign up for shifts here.

Sign Up To Volunteer

Ready to get started volunteering with Meals on Wheels? Sign up here.

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Become A Meals on Wheels Volunteer

Sign up for Kitchen Shifts

Already volunteering at the kitchen? Sign up for future shifts on Volunteer Hub.

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Volunteer Hub - Meals on Wheels

Other Volunteer Opportunities

While delivering meals is our biggest volunteer need, there are still a number of ways your family can support Meals on Wheels if delivering doesn’t work for your family right now. These fun family-friendly volunteer opportunities are also excellent ways to help seniors and individuals with disabilities in your community.

Metro Meals on Wheels is happy to answer any questions you may have about family-friendly volunteer opportunities. Contact us at [email protected] or call (612) 623-3363 with any questions or to find out where to deliver your completed projects or donations. We also love to hear stories about your volunteer experiences! Pictures or stories from your activities can be sent to [email protected] or shared here.

Sign Up to Deliver Meals

Providing oven mitts for our volunteer delivery drivers helps them deliver in style and protects their hands from the hot meals, all while putting smiles on recipients’ faces. Either buy the mitts (light colored mitts with no pattern work best), have them donated, or ask families to bring some to a service event at your church or school. Here are a few decorating ideas to get you started.

Nothing brightens the days of meal recipients like hand-made greeting cards. Cards are especially appreciated at holidays, birthdays and in times of illness. Meals on Wheels makes sure they get delivered to folks along with their daily meal on the appropriate holiday or birthday. Use your creativity, some paper, and any other art supplies you have and remember to make your cards general enough so they will suit any recipient.

Thoughtfully decorated placemats are a lovely extra to bring to meal recipients, as are sun catchers or other small gifts. If you’re able to laminate the placemats, all the better!

In addition to receiving the hot portion of the meal in a tray, Meals on Wheels recipients get the cold portion in a lunch bag. Add life to their meals by decorating lunch bags! Simply buy paper lunch bags and use your creativity, crayons, markers, stickers, or any art materials you have on hand.

No-sew fleece blankets make for an easy and fun project that can provide warmth and comfort to a Meals on Wheels recipient. You will need to buy the fleece fabric, but making it is quick and easy. Here you can find simple instructions for no-sew fleece blankets.

During the holidays and on birthdays, meal recipients are given a special goodie bag to say, “We care.” This is a great project for families, Girl Scouts, service clubs, school groups or workplace volunteer programs. To make it as easy as possible for individuals and groups to contribute to the program, we have established easy-to-follow instructions and guidelines that can be printed and shared with your group.

Make a difference by hosting a family fundraiser, with the proceeds going to feed seniors and those with disabilities in your community. Here are some fun ideas:

  • Collect pennies to donate to Meals on Wheels. Visit www.pennies.org and click on “Penny & Charity.”
  • Throw a party. Get a volunteer band and have someone donate food and drinks. Charge a small price for admission and/or ask your guests for donations for Meals on Wheels.
  • Rent your family for chores. Offer your services for shoveling snow, raking leaves, sweeping, cleaning, painting or other odd jobs. Let the recipients know that the proceeds will benefit Meals on Wheels.

Meals on Wheels programs depend on individual donations. A contribution of $30 will feed a meal recipient for a week.

Do-good birthdays are an excellent way to encourage children to think about others while having a blast on their big day. Here are some ideas for party projects that benefit Meals on Wheels.

  • Choose one of our family-friendly projects, such as creating placemats, lunch bags, cards, blankets or We Care packages as the party’s primary activity. Or do several of these projects!
  • If you decide on a no-gift party, consider asking guests to make a donation to Metro Meals on Wheels in lieu of a present.
    • Take your child to deliver the items the guests have created and any monetary donations you’ve collected.

The biggest need we have is delivering meals, and it’s a family-friendly opportunity. Sign up to deliver as a family or learn more.

Sign Up To Volunteer

Thanks for your interest in volunteering for Meals on Wheels to help bring nutrition and independence to seniors and people with disabilities in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area! Please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch with you soon with everything you need to get started.