EAT FRESH. The Eau Claire County Meals on Wheels program is now operating out of a new kitchen just outside Eau Claire. (Submitted photos)

Hundreds of Eau Claire County residents count on Meals on Wheels for hot meals every weekday, and now the program has a big new kitchen to help prepare, cook, and package all that food.

The $1.8 million kitchen opened in late June next to the Eau Claire County Highway Facility, 5061 U.S. Highway 53, just south of the city of Eau Claire. 

Every weekday morning, the 5,000-square-foot kitchen is a hub of activity as staff members and volunteers prep and package about 600 meals. Most meals are delivered to home-bound seniors as part of the Meals on Wheels program, while some of the food goes to senior dining sites at locations such as the L.E. Phillips Senior Center.

For the previous six years, the meal program had been housed in leased space inside a former nursing home at Fall Creek. The county decided that building its own custom-designed, centrally located facility would benefit the program, explained Betsy Henck, manager of the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Eau Claire County, which oversees Meals on Wheels.

“It allowed us to design it specifically for Meals on Wheels,” she said. “We were able to create our own efficiencies.”

The new facility has numerous benefits, including more food prep space, larger ovens, and more room to store both fresh and frozen foods. Meals on Wheels comes in two parts: a hot tray covered with heat-sealed film (think of TV dinner-style packaging) and a brown bag with items that need to be kept cool such as bread, milk, and dessert.

“Having our own central kitchen gives us a lot more freedom in the quality of the meals we provide. We just have a lot more control over what we’re putting out.”

“Having our own central kitchen gives us a lot more freedom in the quality of the meals we provide,” Henck said. “We just have a lot more control over what we’re putting out.”

Outside, there’s an awning that keeps delivery drivers out of the elements when they load their vehicles. The outdoor space has another special feature: raised garden beds, where volunteers planted produce earlier this summer with the hope of supplementing the kitchen pantry.

An additional advantage of the new location is that it offers opportunities for expansion, which may be a future possibility: Henck notes that the program has grown 20% to 30% since the COVID pandemic hit in 2020. The Highway 53 site also provides easy access to highways for delivery drivers (most are volunteers) as well as to meal recipients, the majority of whom live in Eau Claire (although the program has clients around Eau Claire County as well as parts of Chippewa and Trempealeau counties).

Henck said the ADRC receives a lot of positive feedback from meal recipients, especially since they began preparing meals at a central facility back in 2017.

Meals on Wheels receives most of its funding from the federal government through the Older Americans Act, although about 35% of the budget comes from donations from meal recipients. A donation of $5 per meal is requested, but no one is turned away because of inability to pay. Meals on Wheels is intended for people 60 and older who can’t easily get out of the house, as well as their spouses.

Henck noted that the program relies heavily on volunteers, and people who are interested in sharing their time and talent are invited to contact the county ADRC at (715) 839-4735. Likewise, seniors who want to sign up for meals can call the same number.

More information about the program can also be found online by visiting the ADRC’s website.