765.362.3244 information@mcfreeclinic.org

Meals on Wheels


Now accepting new clients.
Click here to sign up.

Interested in volunteering?
Click here to request more information. 

Meals on Wheels provides physician prescribed, home-delivered meals to older adults and other home-bound persons unable to prepare adequate meals due to illness, disability or age. Our MOW program is a member of the national Meals on Wheels organization. Recipients (or their loved ones) covering the cost of the meals. Generous donors supplement the costs for those who cannot afford the meals. Click here to read more about the history of Meals on Wheels in Montgomery County.

Volunteer Drivers and Subs are always needed for Meals on Wheels  
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Call the Montgomery County Free Clinic at 765.362.3244 to sign up, or complete this meal-delivery interest form.
Meals on Wheels FAQ

What is Meals on Wheels?

Christian Nursing Service (CNS) began Meals On Wheels (MOW) in 1969 to provide nutritious and inexpensive hot lunches and cold sack dinners to senior citizens. CNS volunteer nurses, doing home visits, recognized that many seniors were not able to prepare their own meals. So, the CNS Board began MOW to provide a hot lunch and a cold sack dinner five days a week. Later, MOW added frozen dinners for the weekend. They began with sixteen clients and now have over sixty. Today, with volunteers from various churches and other organizations, Montgomery County Free Clinic, Inc. continues MOW.

Who Does It Serve?

Most clients are over sixty years old living alone or with their spouse in their own home; they are not homeless. A few clients are younger than 60 living alone and unable to prepare their own meals because of some disability. A few clients are with MOW for a short time while they are recovering from surgery or an illness. Many of the clients have limited financial support and access to other sources of food, such as family. Some clients can afford the meals but for health reasons are unable to prepare their meals. Most clients pay some or all the cost of the meals.

What is the Cost of the Meals?

Prices are subject to change. Update Nov. 2025

  • Hot meals are $4.50.
  • Frozen meals @ 3.50 (available only for weekends and delivered on Fridays)
  • Weekly without frozen meals for weekends $22.50
  • Weekly with frozen meals for weekends $29.50
  • Monthly without frozen meals for weekends $90
  • Monthly with frozen meals for weekends $118

Is Assistance Available?

While $120/month/client is very inexpensive, not all clients are able to pay the full amount. Indeed some are unable to pay any. When a client is accepted into the program, we make sure that the client receives appropriate support.  Donations pay about $700 per month. Difficulties arise when clients can’t or won’t pay their bills. We try to work with clients to find a way to support them so that they can continue to receive lunches.

Who Packages and Delivers the Meals?

Meals on Wheels depends on volunteers to package the meals and to deliver the meals. MOW has volunteer coordinators from more than 13 organizations including Kiwanis, Wabash Retirees, and many churches. Individuals also can participate. The program is in need of volunteers for driving, substitute drivers and packagers. Click here to volunteer. 

A Typical week with Meals on Wheels of MCFC

Every weekday except Thanksgiving and Christmas volunteers gather at the kitchen of Franciscan Health Crawfordsville to package and deliver hot lunch meals and cold sack dinner meals to about 60 clients.

Tuesday Menu

Along with meals, volunteers deliver menus to the clients on Tuesday for the following week. A typical menu has choices for each day. For example, on Monday, a typical menu has two choices of main course–Garlic Cheddar Chicken or Roast Beef; a starchy vegetable–mashed potatoes or rice pilaf; and a second vegetable–broccoli, or mixed vegetables. The client chooses one from each group for each day. During the week, there are many choices for the main dish including: lagona chicken, herb roast pork, grilled chicken, meat loaf, chicken and noodles, country fried steak, tilapia or salisbury steak. There are two choices for each day.

Thursday or Friday Menu

Volunteers pick up the menus on Thursday and Friday and leave them at the hospital. The kitchen manager gathers the menus, checks each menu, and then prepares each clients order for the following week. The MOW staff then prepare labels for each hot meal.

Packaging the Meals

Each weekday morning, two volunteer packers arrive at the hospital at 8:30 AM. They are responsible for making sure the hot meals are packed into environmentally friendly containers and labeled. They have to be certain that the meal matches the client’s order. They then place the hot meals in delivery-order into insulated containers and the sacks into insulated bags.  They need to have everything ready by 10:30 AM.

Delivering the Meals

Five groups of volunteers gather at Franciscan Health Crawfordsville’s kitchen at 10:30 AM to pick up the hot meals and sacks for their route. They also pick up a list that provides the delivery route with client names and directions.  At each client’s home, the volunteer delivers the meals and checks to be sure all is well. If the volunteer can’t reach the client, they call the coordinator. The coordinator then calls the contact person. After the last meal is delivered, the volunteer returns to the hospital, returning the carriers.

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