New BrunswickResearchers at the University of New Brunswick took a closer look at the province’s Meals on Wheels programs for the first time and found they’re struggling with long-term funding, rising costs and volunteer shortages.11 not-for-profit meal delivery programs struggle with long-term funding, rising costs and volunteer shortagesOliver Pearson · CBC News · Posted: Dec 08, 2025 4:43 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Meals on Wheels in Fredericton alone delivered almost 100,000 meals in 2024 and demand continues to grow, officials said. (Nathalie Sturgeon/CBC )Researchers have taken a look at the province’s Meals on Wheels programs for the first time in their history to highlight their challenges and recommend how to address them.Catherine Bigonnesse is a political science professor and runs the University of New Brunswick’s Healthy Aging Policy Innovation Lab that conducted the study.One of the key findings, she said, was financial challenges, such as the rising cost of food and difficulty securing long-term funding.“The business of Meals on Wheels, it’s a big endeavour and you need the volume too, to be able to pay at least one person to cook the meal, right?” said Bigonnesse, who is also the Canada research chair in healthy aging. “So it’s a challenge.”It’s very difficult with the lack of sustainable, long-term, predictable funding,” she said, noting organizations are often going from one grant to the next, with each usually lasting for only a year or two, making long-term planning difficult.Deliver 230,000 meals a yearThe report surveyed 11 Meals on Wheels programs, which reported that their funding came from provincial or federal government, revenue from meals, grants or fundraising.All 11 programs are not-for-profit organizations that provide delivered meals and social support to seniors, people with disabilities and those who are recovering from illness or injury.The report shows that meals cost between $7.75 and $11.50 and around 230,000 are delivered annually.Meals on Wheels is a not-for-profit that relies on government funding, grants and fundraising, as well as meal revenue to deliver hot meals to seniors and vulnerable people. (Ed Hunter/CBC)Two of the biggest operations are in Fredericton and Saint John, which alone deliver 160,000 of the province’s total annual meals.Betty Daniels, executive director of Meals on Wheels Fredericton, said it’s difficult to keep the program funded.“We rely heavily on fundraising and just long term … we’re grateful for grants that we receive and we have managed this through all of these decades, but it is always challenging,” said Daniels.She said the cost of food continues to rise and maintaining competitive wages for the few paid staff they have is tough without reliable funding.More than just mealsThe Fredericton program began almost 60 years ago and Daniels said it has become much more than delivering meals, which the report showed.“Every day we hear our clients tell us how much the drivers mean to them, how it may be the only person they see in a day.… The questions they’ll ask or the favours they’ll ask of our drivers and how connected they become,” she said.The delivery drivers become a social support for seniors, Daniels said, and that has become “the most special” part of the program.Meals on Wheels drivers are doing more than just delivering food. Their role has often become a social support for seniors, according to officials. (Nathalie Sturgeon/CBC)Part of the report was a literature review that delved into the research behind this kind of service. It said that social contact with drivers helps decrease loneliness and improve mental well-being.“People who deliver food at the home play a key role in social support and social isolation, even helping in the health crisis to prevent hospitalization,” said Bigonnesse. “This is [what] we’ve heard from drivers and anybody working in the Meals on Wheels.”According to the report, meal delivery allows seniors to stay in their homes longer, reducing an already long waiting list for long-term care in the province.Bigonnesse said she heard about the drivers’ impact during a discussion between more than 30 organizations in May, which was hosted to collect information for the report.LISTEN | Betty Daniels and Catherine Bigonnesse discuss Meals on Wheels in N.B.:Information Morning – Fredericton14:49Meals on WheelsMeals on Wheels in Fredericton has been delivering food for close to 60 years. And for the first time researchers have looked at the service and what it means for the people who need it. Colleen Kitts-Goguen spoke to Betty Daniels, executive director for Meals on Wheels in Fredericton, and Catherine Bigonnesse, political science professor at UNB and holds the Canada Research Chair on Healthy Aging.Several Meals on Wheels groups, Nursing Home Without Walls organizations and others joined the facilitated discussions.Another key finding was that Meals on Wheels programs across the province face volunteer shortages. The report said “many current volunteers are themselves older adults” and the cost to own a vehicle is becoming a concern for some.RecommendationsBigonnesse’s report recommended that a provincial body be created to increase the current service area, create more awareness and help with grant applications.“That would probably help to compare, share and then … it’s easy to write a grant when there’s three of us or five, than when you’re all by yourself,” said Bigonnesse.As well, the report recommends more partnership with other food security organizations, such as food banks, and better data collection through collaboration with academic institutions.ABOUT THE AUTHOROliver Pearson is a reporter at CBC New Brunswick. He can be reached at oliver.pearson@cbc.caWith files from Information Morning Fredericton
Report highlights the challenges, importance of Meals on Wheels programs in N.B.
