Author: Meals on Wheels America

Publication Date: September 2023

Description: Throughout our investigation, we employed diverse search strategies to identify numerous studies exploring the impacts of Meals on Wheels. A total of 38 selected studies, spanning from 1996 to 2023 (excluding those cited for background), examined the impacts of Meals on Wheels on clients’ health and well-being, health care utilization and health care costs. Of the 38 studies reviewed, 37 found evidence of positive effects of Meals on Wheels on one or more outcomes. This review synthesizes this large and varied body of literature, compiling findings from diverse studies such as randomized controlled trials, statistical modeling studies and qualitative studies that support the immense value of home-delivered meal programs. We classified impacts as “primary findings” if we uncovered evidence of substantive positive impact of Meals on Wheels service on that outcome from three or more studies. We classified impacts that did not meet this threshold as “additional impacts.” These are potential areas for further research

Access: Free

Keywords: Food Security, Healthy Diet, Social Connection, Home Safety,