Coronavirus Updates
Service Update – December 13, 2020
Starting January 5, 2021 Edmond Mobile Meals will begin partnering with local restaurants to provide fresh, hot meals to clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays in addition to the frozen meal service on Wednesdays. This will allow us to provide nourishing meals during the cold, winter months to clients who most need them.
While we still cannot return to our daily service with volunteers in our building preparing meals until we have a significant decline in COVID-19 cases, several restaurants have expressed interest in helping out. We believe this is a win-win-win for our program, our clients and local restaurants who may struggle to remain open in the winter months.
We will continue to practice diligent social distancing and other CDC recommended practices to make sure our volunteers and clients remain safe. We require all volunteers to do the same. All volunteers wear masks while preparing, packaging and delivering meals. We will continue to hand out meals with a contactless, “drive through” style each day of delivery, with drivers remaining in their cars.
We anticipate returning to daily delivery mid-2021, either when we see a decline in COVID-19 cases in our area, or when the vaccine has been widely distributed to clients, staff and volunteers.
COVID Update: October 12, 2020
Back in March we had no idea that when October rolled around on the calendar we’d still be talking about social distancing and delivering meals just once each week. But, here we are!
We will continue our Wednesday deliveries through October, and most likely through the remainder of the year. In just a few short weeks the number of active cases of COVID-19 in Edmond have nearly doubled. Until we see a 14-day decline in positive cases here in Edmond, we will continue with our modified operations. We miss you all, and our top priority is keeping our staff, volunteers and clients as safe as possible.
Chef Toni is making sure our clients are getting fresh healthy fruits and salads, and will focus on including a boost of Vitamin C and Zinc to their meals to support strong immune systems as we approach cold and flu season.
We ask that if you volunteer with us, please continue to diligently practice social distancing, mask wearing in public, avoiding large crowds, and frequent hand-washing. We don’t take these requests lightly, and know it is hard to do! Especially risky activities include church services (including weddings & funerals), dining-in at restaurants or bars, indoor house gatherings and air travel. If you aren’t sure, give Terri or Toni a call.
Make sure you are taking good care of yourselves right now. Health experts tell us that eating a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to keep your immune system and your brain strong. Chef Toni agrees, and has provided this great safe food shopping guide to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
We are so grateful for our amazing volunteers who help us make sure no senior in Edmond goes hungry!
COVID Update: August 17, 2020
Edmond Mobile Meals is proud to serve Edmond’s homebound seniors as this public health emergency persists. We’ve been serving our clients each Wednesday since March and we will continue weekly deliveries of 5 days of frozen entrees, side items and milk until we can safely resume our normal, daily meal operations.
Since March we have served nearly 21,000 meals to 300 homebound seniors and disabled residents of Edmond. In July, Chef Toni introduced fresh salads as an addition to the fresh fruit we have been providing to help boost the nutritional support for our clients.
To resume daily meal preparation and deliveries we must see 14 consecutive days of declining new positive COVID-19 cases in our area (mainly OKC Metro & Edmond). Each Monday we review detailed reports from the OK County Health Department, and currently the cases continue to increase weekly, and so we must continue to do all we can to help minimize the spread of the virus in Edmond.
Our volunteers continue to step up and help us make sure no senior goes hungry in our community. We appreciate all who have helped prepare & package meals and those who have delivered them. We also greatly appreciate volunteers who are making phone calls to check on our isolated clients.
To continue to protect our vulnerable clients, we request all volunteers to continue to practice mindful social distancing and to refrain from volunteering with us if:
- They do not wear masks in public places
- Travel by Air
- Attend In-Person, Indoor Church Services (including weddings, funerals, etc)
- Dine-In at Restaurants/Bars
We hope to resume daily operations very soon!
For any questions regarding Edmond Mobile Meals COVID-19 operations or policies, please contact Cristi Twenter at cristi@edmondmobilemeals.org
COVID Update: June 2, 2020
It’s been 10 weeks since we started bulk delivery of frozen meals each Wednesday to our homebound clients. During this time we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of seniors who need our assistance. While we are all ready to get back to our daily meal preparation and delivery, we believe that we must exercise additional caution for the safety of our vulnerable clients, staff, and hundreds of volunteers. So, we will extend our Wednesday meal delivery through the month of June.
We respectfully ask those who volunteer with us in June to continue to practice mindful social distancing, and if you travel or are in large groups of any kind (including in-person church services) to please take a break from volunteering for 14 days.
We hope to resume our normal, daily schedules on Monday, June 29. Please keep in mind that is our target date, but it is not set in stone. We have developed a re-entry plan with general guidelines we will follow to make decisions based on the best data available that we feel are in the best interests of all involved. Procedures for both kitchen and delivery will be different to comply with all CDC and OCHD guidelines. Our staff will begin a gradual process of returning into the office, but the best way to contact us will be email until we are back in the office full-time.
We are so incredibly grateful for the continued outpouring of support from our volunteers and our community. Because of the generosity of so many, we’ve been able to provide these frozen meals to our clients during this time at no-charge to them. We are also able to provide clients with masks because of so many generous donations of those. We thank all the volunteers who have helped us over the past few months to make sure no senior in Edmond goes hungry!
Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates throughout the month of June.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@edmondmobilemeals.org
COVID Update: May 8, 2020
It has been 6 weeks since Edmond Mobile Meals began to deliver prepared, frozen meals once a week. We’ve added 35 new homebound clients since March 1.
We’ve learned a lot in that time and are thankful for all the assistance we’ve received the community. Your financial and volunteer support is greatly appreciated. We will continue to deliver frozen meals each Wednesday through the month of May, and perhaps June. We are working with local health officials on a plan to resume our normal daily meal deliveries and will share it when complete. Our staff will continue to work mostly from home during this time.
With the City of Edmond beginning to reopen this month, we want to reiterate that while social distancing has helped flatten the curve to prevent overwhelming our medical resources, it did not eliminate the virus or the deadly risk our clients experience if they are exposed. So, we respectfully ask that if you continue to volunteer with us during this time to be mindful and continue practice stringent social distancing. We are asking this on behalf of the over 230 high-risk clients that we serve, along with the staff and volunteers at EMM.
The requirements for volunteering with us in May are:
– Masks must be worn if you are in our building or delivering meals.
– Please take your temperature before arrival. If your temp is above 99.5, please do not come to EMM. We will find a replacement.
– If you plan to travel during May, please cancel your volunteer shifts for 2 weeks following your return.
– Please practice social distancing. We understand that normal life appointments are necessary, but if you attend an event of any kind with more than 10 people in attendance, please cancel your volunteer shift for 14 days afterwards. This includes “dining in” at restaurants, church, etc. Our clients lives are at stake.
– lf you experience any of the COVID-19 symptoms, or have been in direct contact with someone who has, please cancel your volunteer shift for at least 2 weeks.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@edmondmobilemeals.org
Edmond Mobile Meals will continue service to our homebound clients unless we are instructed otherwise by local, state or federal officials.
Until further notice, Edmond Mobile Meals will make one delivery each week providing at least 5 senior-friendly frozen or shelf-stable meals with side items and milk. This allows us to continue to ensure our clients are fed while minimizing the risk to both them and our volunteers. We will resume regular Monday through Friday deliveries as soon as we can.
We know the social contact for our clients is crucial. So while we are only able to deliver meals face-to-face once per week, our volunteers will be making phone calls each day to check on clients to make sure their needs are being met. If they need assistance with groceries, picking up medication or other important necessities we have volunteers ready to help.
If you, or someone in your family, meets the following criteria, we can help. Apply For Meals Here
- Over 60 years old & temporily homebound due to COVID-19
- Lives Alone (or with a family member also over 60)
- Immunocompromised
- Lives in Edmond
- Does not have a caregiver during the weekday that can prepare at least one meal
If you would like to provide assistance to Edmond Mobile Meals during this challenging time, you can do so by:
- Donating – Providing prepared meals increases the cost to Edmond Mobile Meals. Click Here to Donate
- Volunteering – We don’t know how long this will last, or how many volunteers will be personally impacted. If you are in a low-risk group, healthy and have not traveled since March 1, we can use you. Please complete our volunteer application & background check to volunteer. Click Here to Volunteer
*If you are sick, please stay home and consult a medical professional. Volunteers can contact their Coordinator or call the office to report their absence.
What is coronavirus?
According to the World Health Organization, “Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19.”
How does it spread?
– The most likely form of transmission is through:
– Droplets released into the air by coughing or sneezing
– Close personal contact with someone with coronavirus
– Touching an object or surface with the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
What can I do to stay healthy?
– The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including coronavirus:
– Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
– Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. · Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for a least 20 seconds. See the CDC site for additional handwashing tips.
– If water and soap are not available, clean hands using alcohol-based sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
– Clean frequently surfaces and objects (for example, TV remotes and computers).
The most important step you can take is to stay informed and follow guidelines outlined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Resource links are available at the bottom of this page.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
According to the Center for Disease Control states that “reported illnesses ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness”. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure and can include fever, cough, shortness of breath”.