Home Delivery Services for Seniors

Home Delivery Services for Seniors

You can get just about anything delivered to your front door these days and pretty quickly too. This is great news for seniors who either have a mobility problem, are chronically sick or disabled. It makes getting what they want or have to have that much easier and less stressful to get. So what kind of services could a senior take advantage of?

Get Meals and Food Delivered to Your Home

Sometimes making a meal is a real effort for an older adult. Whether it’s arthritis which may cause a grasping problem or some other medical issue, food delivered to the home is helpful and sometimes necessary for seniors. One of the biggest food delivery services is Meals on Wheels. This program is concerned with not just feeding the elderly but making sure the food is nutritious too. Each meal which is delivered is one-third of the dietary requirements that seniors require daily. Most programs serve one meal a day 5 days a week and, depending on the program, meals may be cold, frozen, hot or ready for reheating.

Amazon Pantry is a great option for stocking up your groceries and pantry items. For a flat $5.99 delivery fee, you can order as much or as little as you’d like with no minimum purchase required. Items include: canned goods, dry goods, laundry detergent and dish soap, bath tissue, paper towels, and the like.

A new growing option is your local supermarket and department store. Safeway, a national grocery chain, offers this service in select areas and promises a “one hour delivery window” as well as same day delivery if the order is placed by 8:30am that day. It also requires a minimum purchase of $49 for local delivery services.

A fairly new company, WeGoShop.com, may offer personalized delivery services in your area as well.

If you have a specific grocery store or department store that you like, check with the manager to see if they now offer delivery services – you may be pleasantly surprised that times have changed. Or, simply type in “local grocery delivery services” in your Google search bar.

Have Prescriptions Delivered to Your Front Door

Having to take a prescription is one thing, but taking the number of prescriptions many seniors take is a hassle in itself without trying to get to the pharmacy to pick them up on different days. Even with the drive thru, drop off and pick up windows; a senior citizen still can find this burdensome. Luckily many major pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS now have delivery service. Usually deliveries are made between 10am to 5pm on weekdays. If the prescription is phoned in by 10am that day, it will most likely get delivered that day. If its phoned in later, the it gets delivered the next day. Orders placed on Fridays get delivered on Mondays. So the thing to keep in mind is when the prescriptions run out so you can ensure they can be refilled and delivered in plenty of time. Plus, most pharmacies offer automatic refills now.

The other way to get prescriptions is through the mail. With this, you can get a 90 day supply of your medications delivered to your home. Sometimes your health plan will have lower copays for mail order medications than retail pharmacies. If your prescription is current some of the mail order pharmacies will let you order your refill online for easier service. There are a few problems with mail order though. If you order through an unreliable online drugstore you could get counterfeit medication or the wrong kind. Also, your packages of medication could get stolen from your mailbox. Mail delivery is slower too, and it could take 2 weeks to receive the medication you need so you have to allow for that when ordering.

Seniors can really benefit from home delivery. It can save trips to the store or pharmacy in the winter. A senior can also make sure that a hot meal is going to be delivered so he or she doesn’t go hungry. Be sure to check into the home delivery services in your area.

Have you have a positive experience using local delivery services? Please share in the comments!

Senior Advisor's knowledgeable writers blog about senior care services, trends and more.

10 Comments

  1. van chuyen hang gia re June 1, 2016 Reply

    I need a transport service to move around the world, no one to support me?

  2. Larry Goto July 29, 2016 Reply

    I am interested in starting a food and grocery delivery services in my neighborhood. I am very grateful for your article and would appreciate any additional information and help you can provide. I am a senior citizen myself and understand how delivery services are appreciated and becoming popular. One area that I am not sure would be the cost for the service that seniors are willing to pay. Maybe you have an idea of how to charge, by service, or by the hour and what type needs are the most popular.

    One area that I should have would be a website as many seniors do go on the internet. How I can communicate and advertise my services on the web and where can I go to develop a simple website that is affordable, as I am living on social security income only. Your feedback and help is greatly appreciated.

    Any feedback will be appreciated.

  3. Derek Mcdoogle September 19, 2016 Reply

    You mentioned that whether it’s arthritis which may cause a grasping problem or some other medical issue, food delivered to the home is helpful and sometimes necessary for seniors. My mom recently had hip surgery done and can’t get up to make her meals. Do most food service companies offer a variety of food delivery options? Having a food service deliver her food might be a good option.

  4. Cheri September 30, 2016 Reply

    Any suggestions on how to get the newspaper delivery person to deliver the newspaper to the front doorstep? My father is 96 years old and the newspaper delivery person throws the paper anywhere and everywhere. We live in Boston and in the winter time ice and snow make the trek to get the paper very dangerous.

    • Tammy October 23, 2016 Reply

      We use to have that same problem. I happened to be there a day they came by to deliver and asked them to put it in between the front doors since my mom can’t do steps very well. I don’t think the kid was to happy with me but it does get done everyday. If you aren’t there to talk to them, you should be able to call the newspaper office and request this.

  5. Ivy Baker December 4, 2017 Reply

    My grandmother is having a hard time going to the store recently. So I liked that you talked about how she could get things like her prescriptions delivered to her home. That would be so helpful for both her and the rest of my family. Especially since there are some medications that she shouldn’t skip taking because she hasn’t gotten her new prescription yet.

  6. lyn April 19, 2019 Reply

    I am trying to find someone to pick up my order at JCPenney’s at the Mall and deliver it to me at my house. Any suggestions? (Sarasota, FL) Thanks.

  7. Denise Blackbourn August 17, 2019 Reply

    Can you get newspaper delivered daily? My elderly parents live in Heacham in Norfolk. Costs double price of newspaper to deliver

  8. Gina Adams November 19, 2019 Reply

    Can my parents get the Mercury News delivered on their doorstep each day so they don’t have to walk down the street to pick it up? Is there a service that will place it on their doorstep in San Jose?

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