Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels provides nutritious meals, social contact and other services to the homebound elderly, ill and disabled in eastern Washtenaw County, to enable them to enjoy healthier, safer, and more independent lives. As a result of the Council’s recommendation in the spring of 1973, the City Council agreed to appropriate $8000 to a meal delivery program to begin on July 1, 1973. Pastor William Bingham, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Ypsilanti and a member of the mayor’s Council on Aging, became the first Executive Director. Volunteers prepared meals in the kitchen of the First Baptist Church. Meal service began on January 14, 1974 to 16 homebound individuals. Today, Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels provides home-delivered meals to more than 200 homebound neighbors. Meals for clients over 60 are prepared at Michigan Medicine and delivered by our Client Care Associates and volunteers each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Clients under 60 receive weekly deliveries of frozen meals. In addition to a hot meal and a cold meal for each day, all YMOW clients receive fresh produce and supplemental food from Food Gatherers, as well as Starbucks and Whole Foods Market. Additionally, clients with kidney and cardiac health issues may receive meals designed for their unique nutritional needs. Other services provided by YMOW include:
support for clients' pets, such as food, cat litter, veterinary care and grooming through the P.A.L.S. (
emergency access to non-food essentials such as cleaning products, toiletries and incontinence products
