Hungry for Volunteers, Meals on Wheels Deliver

Montour Featured Stories

Hungry for Volunteers, Meals on Wheels Delivers

By Pat Jennette

Imagine being home alone, perhaps widowed or disabled, unable to drive to a restaurant or to a grocery store, and due to disability or illness, unable to cook. Days can be lonely and long for those in such circumstances. Meals on Wheels can help.

Patty Davidson, development director for the nonprofit agency Lutheran Service Society, says that her organization oversees many of the area Meals on Wheels programs. The West Hills Meals on Wheels operates under their organization. Other local programs operate independently.

“We not only need volunteers, but we also welcome new clients,” she explains. “Over the past year, the number of clients has dropped off, so we definitely have the capacity to serve more people.”

She says that individuals who are recovering from surgeries or accidents are also welcome, even if they only need the service for a short time.

According to the Meals on Wheels national web site, the Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest membership organization supporting a national network of more than 5,000 Senior Nutrition Programs operating in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The tireless work of these programs - supported by a dedicated army of two million volunteers - delivers a nutritious meal, a warm smile and a safety check that helps keep 2.5 million seniors healthy, safe and living independently in their own homes each year.

Nearly one in six seniors do not know where their next meal is coming from each day. The Meals on Wheels Association of America Foundation conducted a study which revealed that in the United States over five million seniors - or 11.4 percent of all seniors - were marginally food insecure.

Here in the airport communities, Meals on Wheels groups provide personal home delivery of nutritious meals to the homebound who are elderly or ill, and at a fraction of the cost of going out to eat or preparing a meal from scratch. On average, clients pay $25 a week for two meals delivered each weekday, a hot meal for lunch, and a cold, bagged meal for dinner.

The meals represent more than one-third of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calories for seniors, and generally a day’s worth of food is served weekdays between 10 and 12 p.m. At many sites, frozen meals are available to cover the weekends and holidays.

Besides the small fee paid by each client, donations cover the remaining costs. Sponsorships may be available for those unable to contribute toward the cost of their meal. Neighbors, family members, and friends can also donate toward the delivery of meals for friends or loved ones during their time of need. Donations can be made for a week at a time, and for any duration.

West Hills Meals on Wheels Site Coordinator Barb Hess pauses for a moment with volunteers Chas Compo and Bonnie Cunzolo in the kitchen at Coraopolis United Methodist Church, where West Hills Meals on Wheels operates.

West Hills Meals on Wheels Site Coordinator Barb Hess holds a warm meal of pork, apple crisp and potatoes that is about to be delivered.

Guidelines have been established to evaluate whether or not the program is suitable for meeting an individual’s needs. To enroll in the program, an individual must demonstrate the inability to plan, shop, and prepare nutritious, well-balanced meals.

Each of the local Meals on Wheels groups serves a unique set of communities. At each location, a paid cook prepares two meals each weekday for each client. Requests to accommodate special diets, particularly the needs of elderly due to health circumstances, are always taken into consideration, in particular those with modified diet requirements, such as diabetic or low sodium.

Barb Hess, who oversees the West Hills Meals on Wheels team, notes that there is a steady need for overall help.

“We have clients who need meals delivered, and a dwindling number of volunteers available to deliver,” she explains.

The same situation is also affecting deliveries in the West Allegheny area. Sue Wise and Lena Cool volunteer for their area’s program. They are constantly seeking residents who can lend a hand one day a week or so.

“Our older residents rely on Meals on Wheels every single day,” says Cool. “We have a commitment to make sure they are taken care of, but it is difficult to do that when we are shorthanded.”

No doubt, it is the volunteers who keep the Meals on Wheels programs viable and operating.

It doesn’t take much to be a volunteer; just a compassion to help others, a vehicle, and a couple of hours on the days of commitment.

Teams of volunteers load up their cars with the meals and drive to client’s homes to make deliveries. The interaction between volunteers assures the client’s well-being, not only from a nutrition standpoint, but also to provide some social interaction via a friendly smile. Volunteers provide a vital interaction with the elderly and homebound, acting as eyes and ears for them throughout the week. Many times, volunteers have saved consumers from extended hospitalization or even death due to this daily visit, explains the Lutheran Service Society on its web site.

Volunteers also help in the kitchen, order food, train new volunteers, plan the driving schedules for volunteers, and any other tasks required to make sure the kitchen and deliveries run efficiently.

Volunteer commitments vary. They can schedule days that work best for them, and a day’s commitment generally takes two to three hours to complete deliveries on a route. Volunteers are welcome for any length of time they are able to give, even if it is just one day a month or one day a week.

All volunteers complete an application, auto safety certification, confidentiality agreement, and sign a job description. A copy of the volunteer’s driver’s license is kept on file.

Donations are always accepted. Fruits and vegetables grown and nurtured in personal or area gardens are welcomed for meal preparation, as are healthy packaged snacks.

For more information contact Barb Hess at the West Hills Meals on Wheels at (412) 262-5973.