Meals on Wheels programs in the Twin Cities are continuing service while monitoring the evolving Coronavirus/COVID-19 situation in Minnesota.

As we experience an increase in clients, our volunteer drivers have been invaluable in meeting the needs of our community. A HUGE Thank You to all of our fabulous volunteers!

We’re taking the advice of public health professionals to proactively remind the people we serve, our volunteers and employees of the everyday steps they can take to prevent the spread of illness.

What Bloomington Eden Prairie Meals on Wheels is doing to continue service during COVID-19

We are focused on 3 key areas:

• Limited Disruption – Our priority is to make sure that all of our neighbors receiving meals do not see a disruption in service, and we have created a plan to navigate that in the coming weeks.
   
• Honor our Volunteers – Our volunteer drivers are very important to us. Our service continues because of them.
   
• Safety – Keeping our clients, volunteers and staff as safe as possible. 

Protocols we are following:

• Clean Hands:  We are asking drivers to wash their hands prior to delivery and again when they are done delivering meals.
   
• Doorstep Delivery:  Whenever possible we are hanging meals on the doorknob or placing them on the doorstep and ringing the doorbell to minimize contact with one another. Drivers step back and check on the client from a distance or over the phone.
   
• Sanitized for Safety:  Our staff is sanitizing all surfaces continually, including delivery bags inside and out.
   
• Healthy Drivers:  We are instructing drivers to stay home if there is ANY chance they are sick or have been exposed to the virus, or if they do not feel comfortable delivering due to their age or health status.
   
• Contingency Plans:  We are working to create a plan to coordinate meal service if we have to reduce the number of days we can serve. We will provide updates if we need to move into a new phase. 

How you can help us continue services:

• Volunteer to Drive:  We need healthy individuals to deliver meals. So far our regular drivers have been great at continuing to serve, but things can change quickly. Many of our regular drivers are senior citizens who are concerned for their own health. If you are interested in being on an emergency driver list, email us at blepmn@gmail.com.
   
• Make a Donation: At this time our staff is working extra hours to meet the needs of our neighbors. We are employing steps that require new expenditures and we are seeing an increase in meal requests. You can make a secure donation here on our website.
   

Thank you for your continued support of our mission. We appreciate your help keeping our community strong.

We are in this together!

Nita Hughes 
Program Director