Pacific Grove, Calif. – October 21, 2021 – Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula (MOWMP) announced its menu serving seniors, disabled adults, and veterans across the Monterey Peninsula will now feature certified grass-fed beef and NO ANTIBIOTICS EVER™ (NAE) chicken.
The transition, taking place now, is part of the agency’s Health Nutrition Sponsorship campaign – which includes a partnership with the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust – and will make MOWMP one of the few nonprofits in the state to convert its beef offerings to certified grass-fed and its chicken offerings to NAE. The move ensures that MOWMP clients do not have to forego the confidence that comes with these distinctions, nor will they have to wait years for the changes to take place. Over the past year, MOWMP and its corps of dedicated volunteers delivered 446,959 meals across the Monterey Peninsula and are providing freshly prepared meals for Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley‘s Home Delivered Meals program.
Christine Winge, MOWMP’s executive director, explains the scale and importance of the agency’s latest advancement in higher quality ingredients, “In just a few months, we have taken this initiative mainstream, moving beyond select dishes and making these healthful proteins available to the 825 clients we serve on the Peninsula.” She continues, “The combination of converting our everyday offerings represents a significant transformation in nonprofit foodservice. We’re raising the bar on the nutrition our clients can expect.”
MOWMP’s success in offering certified grass-fed and NAE proteins extend the agency’s leadership beyond the kitchen. Converting its menu is the latest step toward helping meet client demand for meals featuring more health conscious meats. MOWMP is also positioned to meet the needs of hospitals, schools, and other local nonprofits whose menus promote a move away from conventional proteins.
“The certified grass-fed and NAE distinctions are very important to us,” said Uwe Grobecker, MOWMP’s executive chef. “These claims are transparent and easily understandable for our clients. Everyone deserves high quality nutrition and we’re proud to offer a promise they can trust.”
Winge concluded, “Offering these healthful proteins is more challenging from a sourcing standpoint – and more expensive – and like everything else we do, it’s a process of continuous improvement and not accepting the status quo.”
