Meals on Wheels Diablo Region Finds Its New Forever Home in Shadelands
Communication Manager Skylar Schaefer, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region, poses in front of the freshly painted logo on the wall of the organization’s new home in Shadelands.
For more than 50 years, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region (MOWDR) has been touching the lives of seniors living in Contra Costa County by delivering nutritious meals to homebound older adults and providing an array of supportive services that allow seniors to live independently and remain in their homes safely and with dignity.
Located for many years in downtown Walnut Creek on Civic Drive, a Fall 2022 fire forced the organization into new, nearby offices, generously provided by BPM. With additional changes, expansions, and reorganizations in the works after the pandemic, MOWDR was tasked again with finding a new home. What its leadership discovered was their forever home and headquarters in Shadelands Walnut Creek, at 390 N. Wiget.
With a fleet of drivers needing loading, unloading, and parking space, Shadelands was a great find — quieter, easier to access for staff and drivers, close to public transportation, plenty of room to spread out and grow (8,300 sq.ft.), and without the challenges of traffic congestion and parking tickets.
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Shadelands with an open house and ribbon cutting on April 29, attended by staff, colleagues, and volunteers. Holding the big scissors is Executive Director David Linnell, flanked by employees and elected officials. [BlueGoo Photography]
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region opened its Shadelands doors in March 2026, and celebrated with an official ribbon cutting on Wednesday, April 29.
Meals on Wheels (MOW) America is a national nonprofit with chapters throughout the country that service local areas. Established in Walnut Creek in 1968 as its own MOW entity, MOW Diablo Region has since become a part of the greater Meals on Wheels America umbrella organization, benefiting from its expansive resources and connections.
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region now serves the entire county, managing all of Contra Costa’s food delivery and supportive services for its older adult clients, covering an area of more than 800 square miles. [Image courtesy of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region]
After a recent expansion, MOWDR now serves the entire county — managing all of Contra Costa’s food delivery and supportive services, from Richmond to Bethel Island, delivering seven days’ worth of healthy dinner meals once a week to about 3,000 homebound, and often socially isolated, seniors throughout the county. Five meals are frozen, ready to go into the freezer, and two are chilled and ready to eat or keep in the refrigerator.
“We are truly a community-based organization — we rely on local volunteers and local donor dollars to serve local community members,” said Executive Director David Linnell. “Ours is a 360 degree approach to serving our seniors in need by relying on local populations who have the time and resources to give, and the interest in supporting the work we do for our seniors who suffer food insecurity and social isolation. That great Baby Boom generation is aging, and, as we experience the Gray Wave, we’re seeing food insecurity continue to grow.”
According to AARP and other authoritative sources, 10,000+ seniors turn 65 daily, creating significant pressure on healthcare, housing, and economic systems, while also highlighting a surge in the need for senior services. Currently, MOWDR partners with Trio Community Meals, a large-production kitchen (with an operation in the East Bay) and a nationwide partner with Meals on Wheels. Trio prepares the food and MOWDR volunteers deliver the nutritious meals to clients’ homes throughout the county. To meet the needs of a growing population of hungry seniors over the next 20 to 30 years, MOWDR is considering building its own kitchen and producing its own food to manage the demand and available financial resources.
Meals on Wheels Diablo Region volunteers deliver nutritious meals to 3,000 Contra Costa homebound seniors who no longer drive. [Photo courtesy of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region]
“Most people are familiar with the MOWDR’s flagship meal delivery program that benefits our vulnerable seniors, but there is so much more to the Meals on Wheels Diablo Region story of programs and services,” said Skylar Schaefer, MOWDR’s communications manager. “We deliver more than a meal.”
More than 7,500 seniors benefit from the organization’s full plate of services that include exercise, fall prevention, and companionship programs —Friendly Helpers, Friendly Callers, and Friendly Visitors.
“Friendly Helpers — all volunteers — run errands for our seniors, and take them out if they need to go shopping or to the pharmacy or to a doctor’s appointment or get their hair cut,” said Skylar. “Our companionship programs, Friendly Callers and Friendly Visitors, match our volunteers with seniors who share similar interests.
Friendly Helpers, Friendly Callers, and Friendly Visitors help combat the social isolation experienced by many seniors who have few opportunities to get out and socialize with family and friends. [Photo courtesy of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region]
“Volunteers talk with seniors by phone, or pay them visits once a week — or more, depending on the volunteer and senior’s schedules. Sometimes they go out to lunch or do an activity together to combat the social isolation that many seniors experience who don’t have family or friends living with them or living nearby. For those seniors, our companion volunteers bridge the gap and provide the human connection so important to health, happiness, and quality of life.”
Meals On Wheels Diablo Region companion volunteers provide the human connection so important to seniors’ health, happiness, and quality of life. [Photo courtesy of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region]
MOWDR also offers health-focused, independence-focused programs, including fall prevention workshops that demonstrate how to prevent falls and how to make safety modifications in the home, such as installing grab bars. Health & wellness exercise classes are held at senior and community centers, offering classes focused on strength, balance, walking, and helping seniors stay active and socially engaged.
Café Costa in Walnut Creek’s Civic Park is the place to enjoy nutritious meals, companionship, and opportunities to socialize with friends and fellow seniors.
Six Café Costas, hosted by MOWDR, are welcoming venues, where seniors can drop in for a nutritious lunch and snacks, and meet up with friends in casual social settings. Café Costa in Walnut Creek’s Senior Center (in Civic Park) is open four days a week, Monday through Thursday, 11am to 12:30pm. Other cafes are located in Bay Point, Brentwood, Concord, Pittsburg, and Rodeo.
“The cafés encapsulate every part of our mission at once — nutritious meals, companionship, and opportunities for social engagement with friends and guests for seniors who are not homebound,” said Skylar.
“The goal — and where our passion lies — is in enabling seniors to age in place safely and independently in the homes they love. Thousands of seniors rely on us just the for social engagement and health & wellness programs, without being a part of our food delivery services,” said Skylar.
The Meals on Wheels Diablo Region headquarters team gathers for a group photo to celebrate their new home in Shadelands Walnut Creek. [BlueGoo Photography]
MOWDR’s full plate of services are made possible through the efforts of more than 60 staff — 30 in the new Shadelands headquarters — and a network of 500+ dedicated volunteers throughout the county, including local service groups such as Rotary and Kiwanis clubs.
Full-time and part-time employees manage the many services and programs of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region at work stations in the organization’s new headquarters in Shadelands Walnut Creek.
“It’s a massive operation handled by very talented and compassionate coordinators who want to serve our seniors, making sure that seniors receive their meals every week; and that isolated seniors receive their phone calls or in-person visits every week; and that seniors get to their appointments on time, even if that means getting seniors in touch with other local nonprofits who can help with ride services.” said Skylar, who admits that food insecurity has a hold on her heart.
“We like to say that we have wrap around services at Meals on Wheels. Once you’re in, you’re in, and we make sure that you’re taken care of,” said Skylar. “It’s more than food, its love and a lifeline for seniors who are experiencing a number of challenges. Each delivered free meal comes with a safety check — we knock on the door to make sure they’re up. A missed answer at the door or missed appointment does not go unnoticed. We’re the first lines of support for many seniors who may not have anyone else checking on them.”
To be qualified for MOWDR home delivery meals, adults must be 60 and older, homebound, and no longer driving (eligibility is based on need, not income).
For seniors who are living alone and feeling lonely and isolated, Meals on Wheels volunteers help them build meaningful connections through phone calls, friendly visits, helping around the home, and opportunities to socialize with other seniors. [Photo courtesy of Meals on Wheels Diablo Region]
“Sometimes our seniors feel forgotten. They helped build this community. They spent their youth and adulthood here, and raised children and worked in the community. Our seniors built our roads. They taught in our schools. They were our construction workers. They were our crossing guards and our medical professionals,” said Skylar. “They were hands-on in our community, and as they age, they become less and less hands-on until they begin to feel forgotten by their own community, or that the community they cared for doesn’t care about them anymore. I like being a friendly reminder that we do care, and we’re here for them.”
Visit Meals on Wheels Diablo Region for more detailed information about senior services, food delivery eligibilty & sign ups, and volunteer opportunities.
