As O.C. demographics change, Meals on Wheels expands the menu to include more Latino, Asian options
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A hot meal can mean more than nourishment. When a dish is prepared with familiar flavors and ingredients, that meal can feel like home.
A nonprofit that delivers meals to food-insecure adults age 60 and up is hoping to tap into the idea of comfort food with its new program of culturally familiar meals.
“Meals on Wheels Orange County really is leading the charge in the state to move beyond the traditional model that has existed,” said Madelynn Hirneise, chief executive. “We create separate meal tracks where the entire menu is Asian-inspired, Hispanic-inspired, while still offering our vegetarian, lactose-free and other options as well.”
A 22,000-square-foot commercial kitchen outfitted with a wok and other new equipment in Anaheim processes the food distributed to more than 10,000 people in 21 Orange County cities.
The new culturally diverse menu track, launched over the last year, features meals that better reflect an increasingly diverse population.
“We know that especially in Orange County, the older population is the fastest growing demographic, and it is a very culturally diverse demographic,” said Hirneise. “We are just this huge melting pot.”
Hirneise said the new dishes were created in response to feedback from seniors expressing a desire for something more familiar.
“We do survey our older adults and what we hear consistently is food is belonging, food is comfort” Hirneise said. “How do I get a meal that taste like home?”
The program serves those homebound due to illness, disability or lack of mobility. The meals, priced at a voluntary contribution of $5.25 a day, are packaged at the Anaheim kitchen and warehouse and delivered to community and senior centers. Volunteers collect the meals and deliver them directly to homes.
Breakfast and lunch are typically cold packs that include items like yogurt, English muffins, string cheese, oatmeal, egg salad and fresh fruit. Hot dinners are processed, packaged and frozen in Anaheim.
“Our seniors are given instructions so they can heat up the meal in either an oven or a microwave, depending on what they have available,” said Crista Sherman, director of social services at Meal on Wheels Orange County.
New meals from the Hispanic-inspired menu include cubed beef with ranchera sauce and Mexican rice. Enchilada casserole with pinto beans and bell peppers is one of the vegetarian options.
“We also have pork carnitas in tomatillo sauce, with cilantro lime rice and a veggie blend,” Sherman said.
From the Asian-inspired menu, participants can choose from sliced beef with snow peas and mushrooms, baked fish in lemongrass sauce with stir fry vegetables and rice pilaf, or diced chicken with curry pineapple sauce, fried rice and mixed vegetables.
The new meals are held to the same nutritional standards as the rest of the menu.
“We use the dietary requirements for older adults, so that means it has the appropriate amount of grains, the appropriate amount of fruits, vegetables, protein, all the vitamins they need,” Hirneise said. “Every single one of these menus is developed with a registered dietitian and approved by a registered dietitian at the county, so we know that it meets the need for older adults to be healthy in their homes.”
Meals on Wheels also operates a lunch café at 24 senior centers countywide, giving diners a chance to dine in person with other older adults and their families. They also arrange in-home visits to reduce loneliness and isolation for the homebound.
One of the next steps of the culturally diverse menu roll-out is to make expanded meal options available at the lunch cafés.
Hirneise said so far the feedback has been positive.
“Being able to give older adults the dignity of choice is so important,” said Hirneise. “Dignity starts at the plate.”
