OCSP Funds in Action: Meals On Wheels (Sudbury) and Senior Persons Living Connected.

How two Community Support Service Organizations used OCSP funds to make a meaningful difference in their communities.

September 7, 2021

In any given year, numerous vulnerable seniors and adults with disabilities request help accessing food in Ontario communities. But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for Meals on Wheels programs increased provincially by nearly 90,000 meals a month. 

In April 2020, shortly after the province of Ontario locked down for the first time, the Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility announced the Ontario Community Support Program (OCSP), a $16 million dollar investment over two years administered by the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) to help meet the surge in demand for delivered meals and essentials like medication for vulnerable individuals isolating at home. 

Anyone who has used Meals on Wheels knows it’s much more than a food delivery program. Largely facilitated by volunteers, an important aspect of the MOW program is the wellness check-in, and human connection it provides to seniors, persons with disabilities and other individuals in need of assistance. 

Meals on Wheels (Sudbury) and Senior Persons Living Connected (SPLC) are two of the community support service organizations that applied for OCSP funds early in the program. Based in very different regions of Ontario, they faced unique challenges in supporting their clients, and each planned to use their OCSP funds in a way that would make a meaningful difference in their community.

Founded in 1971, Meals on Wheels (Sudbury) will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall. Based in Sudbury, Ontario, the largest geographical municipality in Ontario and home to 330 lakes, the organization helps folks remain independent in their homes by delivering daily nutritious meals to their doorstep.
MOW (Sudbury) Volunteer Coordinator, Jonah D'Angelo with a Volunteer

Following the onset of COVID-19, Meals on Wheels (Sudbury) — like many community support service organizations — saw its intake numbers more than double, and the OCSP funding ensured the organization could handle the uptick, in their case, by expanding delivery routes and increasing their numbers to serve clients in need.  


Additionally, they saw an opportunity to start a grocery program for their clients. Forming partnerships with local grocers and setting up charge accounts for participating clients, the organization uses volunteers to shop during the safest dates and times, and then invoices clients monthly to remain contactless. 


This service, borne out of the desire to keep vulnerable community-members safe in their homes, has been wildly popular with community-members, and Shannon Ketchabaw, Executive Director of MOW (Sudbury), says clients have already expressed concerns about the program ending. “We couldn’t do it before because we didn’t have the capacity to do so, or the money required to do it...but I am making arrangements to keep it going moving forward,” she explained.


“We don’t have an abundance of clients but we have regular clients that are reliant on it. They have health care needs, this service is beneficial to them and they need it,” she expands, “But without certain funding in place, I don’t know that we would be where we are today. Without the OCSP funding, and the support of our community, we would probably have been in a lot more trouble.” 

Like Meals on Wheels (Sudbury), Senior Persons Living Connected (SPLC) applied for OCSP funds early in the pandemic. Located in Scarborough, an area of the GTA known for its multiculturalism, SPLC facilitated a popular Congregate Dining Program in the pre-COVID-19 days, which brought seniors from diverse cultural backgrounds together to enjoy a variety of culturally-specific meals. Physical distancing measures brought the program to an indefinite halt.


Recognizing the power of food to provide comfort in times of uncertainty, Senior Persons Living Connected applied for OCSP funding so they could expand their service territory and bring a taste of home into the homes of their clients.


Understanding that our most cherished meals aren’t one size fits all, SPLC partnered with local restaurants in Scarborough to add authentic Korean and South Asian options to their Meals on Wheels deliveries, as well as putting together culturally-specific grocery baskets, thinking of their Korean and South Asian clients who might want to cook their favourite food at home.


When Senior Persons Living Connected shifted their Meals on Wheels program to contactless delivery for the safety of their clients and volunteers, they knew they had to do something to replace the missing component of human connection—now more important than ever during this time of isolation, stress, and uncertainty, but increasingly difficult as a result of a diminished, largely-senior volunteer-force and physical distancing measures.


And so, the staff came up with a clever idea to safely bring a personal touch into the homes of their clients. Amanda Falotico, SPLC’s Director of Care shares that inspiration struck when a staff member noticed children’s drawings and messages of hope decorating neighbourhood windows. She explains, “They thought that similar thank you notes and drawings by children would really be appreciated by SPLC’s senior clients who are staying at home and unable to see their own grandchildren or youngest extended family members.”


A child 's drawing says we are here for you keep smiling and be silly


The large cards, perfect for displaying on the fridge, feature vibrant drawings by the children of SPLC employees on the front, and encouraging messages in a variety of languages on the back, representing the culturally diverse community members who access their services. Grocery basket deliveries also include a donated hand-sewn face mask, along with instructions for proper use.


Maybe we are not here to see each other but to see each other through


Of the impact the OCSP has had on vulnerable members of the community, Amanda explains, “[It] reduces their burden to shop for groceries and cook, and enables them to stay at home and stay safe during the pandemic.” 


Meals on Wheels (Sudbury) and Senior Persons Living Connected are just two of 136 community support service organizations who’ve received the OCSP emergency funding to help their community members. The unique way each organization has chosen to use their funding however, speaks to what makes the community support service sector so special: their intimate knowledge of their communities, and desire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of their clients.


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