WALOP

WALOP is an acronym for "We All Love Our Pets," a program created by the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). Under this program, pets in the care of millions of homebound seniors receiving Meals On Wheels services also need nutritious meals to stay healthy. WALOP is a national initiative that seeks to unite Meals On Wheels programs across the United States in their efforts to keep seniors and their pets well nourished. While some Meals On Wheels programs have created projects that make it possible for them to make special pet food deliveries to the seniors they serve, many lack the resources needed to integrate this important activity – keeping companion pets, sometimes a homebound senior’s only companion, well nourished and healthy – into routine program operations. Until MOWAA established WALOP in 2006, there was no national initiative for focusing attention on the relationship that exists between homebound seniors and their pets, or for building the financial resources needed to make pet food deliveries an integral part of the nutritional services local Meals On Wheels programs provide for homebound seniors. 1