Citymeals on Wheels 2023 Annual Impact Report - Nourishing Meals for Older New Yorkers

Sep 27, 2026

Citymeals on Wheels honors its founder Gael Greene by continuing a mission that delivers nourishing, ready-to-eat meals to homebound older New Yorkers across all five boroughs. Facing the end of pandemic-era food programs, inflation, rising food costs, and housing insecurity, the organization expands logistics to increase meal recipients and triples ready-to-eat deliveries from its Distribution Center. It also addresses gaps in nutrition and loneliness through research and Social Calls, while providing weekend meals, emergency meals, emergency food packages, and holiday boxes and holiday meals throughout the year.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

A Nourishing Connection - Guaranteed 365 Days A Year

Meal Programs

Weekend Meals

Emergency Meals

Emergency Food Packages

Holiday Boxes

Holiday Meals

Mobile Food Pantry

Research and Social Support

New Study on Food Needs and Resources

Social Calls Program

DEAR FRIENDS, Last fall, still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic and the changes left in its wake, we lost our beloved founder and Chair, Gael Greene. When Citymeals on Wheels first began over four decades ago, it was to fill a need Gael saw—the city’s most vulnerable population, the homebound elderly, did not receive meal deliveries on weekends and holidays. It was Gael’s dream to bridge that gap. And, as we look ahead, we’ll honor her memory by keeping that dream alive in the face of new challenges. The end of pandemic-era food programs—like increased SNAP benefits for seniors—along withinﬂation, rising food costs and housing insecurity have hit older NewYorkers especially hard. But as the need has increased, so has Citymeals’ efforts to work nimbly and leverage our longstanding strengths to continue to deliver nourishing meals to our elderly neighbors. Over the past year, we did a deep dive into logistics at the Citymeals Distribution Center. Our goal was to optimize our extensive capacity and use the know-how of our experienced staff to increase the number of meals delivered and meal recipients served. This has enabled us to expand our ready-to-eat meal program. Taste-tested and packed at our warehouse, these meals can be left on the counter or stored in the pantry until it’s time for lunch or dinner. This ﬂexibility allows our recipients to eat when it suits them best, rather than having to schedule their days around meal deliveries. We expect to triple the number of these meals delivered from our Distribution Center next year. The lack of real data on food insecurity among older people has long been a problem. We only deliver one meal a day, so how are recipients getting the necessary three meals a day? We know that 14 percent of Citymeals recipients, in fact, live on the one meal a day we deliver. How can they manage their chronic conditions, when they don’t have adequate nutrition to take with their medications? To fill this critical gap in knowledge and better understand the hardship that hunger poses for the oldest NewYorkers, this past year, Citymeals began our own research study, looking at the food needs, programs and resources used by older NewYorkers. With this new data—available in the fiscal year ahead—we’ll be able to identify new ways we can nourish our older neighbors and work concretely to curb hunger in all five boroughs. And, in that spirit, we launched our new Social Calls program, which pairs older NewYorkers with volunteers for weekly chats. Because loneliness and isolation can be just as detrimental to our health as the lack of access to proper nutrition. Of course, none of this would be possible without your support.Thank you for your continued dedication, generosity and kindness as we continue to learn and grow.. With deepest gratitude, Beth Shapiro Chief Executive Officer MANHATTAN THE BRONX 3,734 RECIPIENTS QUEENS BROOKLYN 7,580 RECIPIENTS STATEN ISLAND 4,270 RECIPIENTS 5,383 RECIPIENTS Citymeals delivered over 2 million meals to 22,000 older NewYorkers last year A NOURISHING CONNECTION GUARANTEED 365 DAYS A YEAR Citymeals serves 22,000 older NewYorkers across all ﬁve boroughs, delivering nutritious meals on weekends, holidays and during emergencies — building and maintaining connections within our community. Deliveries from our dedicated team of staff and volunteers, which allow for face-to-face check-ins, are sometimes the only personal interaction many of our meal recipients have. WEEKEND MEALS No one should have to go a day without food—nevermind two . Through partnerships with communitybased organizations and older adult centers, Citymeals bridges the gap left by government-funded programs, which only provide meals during the week. On Saturdays and Sundays, Citymeals ensures that our homebound neighbors have nourishing meals. In 2023, Citymeals delivered 1,594,321 weekend meals. EMERGENCY MEALS In cases of extreme weather and loc

FAQs

Why does Citymeals on Wheels focus on homebound older New Yorkers?

When Citymeals on Wheels began, it addressed a gap: vulnerable older people did not receive meal deliveries on weekends and holidays. The organization continues that mission today by delivering nourishing meals and personal check-ins.

How is Citymeals expanding meal delivery capabilities?

Over the past year, the organization analyzed logistics at its Distribution Center to optimize capacity and use experienced staff expertise. This supports expansion of its ready-to-eat meal program and aims to triple the number of these meals delivered next year.

What new initiatives does Citymeals introduce to address hunger and isolation?

Citymeals launches an internal research study on food needs, programs, and resources used by older New Yorkers to better understand food insecurity. It also introduces the Social Calls program, pairing older New Yorkers with volunteers for weekly chats.

Sep 27, 2026

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