Last year a volunteer for Meals on Wheels discovered her meal recipient in a bed that was on fire at Melrose Towers. The wiring on the medical bed was faulty. The volunteer was able to get the bedridden senior into a chair and out of the room as the drapes caught fire. Had the volunteer not walked in at just that moment to deliver the daily lunch, the result could’ve been dire.
According to Michele Daley, the director of nutrition programs for the Local Office on Aging (LOA), the meal is only half of it. The other half is to make sure the recipient is OK. The case involving the bed on fire was an extreme example, but there are many less severe situations that make the Meals on Wheels program so valuable.
“If no one answers and they’ve not said that they won’t be there, we call all emergency numbers, we’ll call the hospitals, we will go back by the house and call until we can figure out where the person is,” says Daley. “We’ve occasionally had the police go in and find out if they’re stuck on the floor.”
The criteria to receive assistance from meals on wheels is based on age – 60 and older – and the inability to prepare food.
“One of the biggest criteria is that they’re homebound and unable to drive to get food themselves or that they’re unable to stand and prepare a nutritious meal,” says Daley.
Having a midday meal is key, allowing many to stay in their homes longer. Often, even those seniors who have adult children that live nearby are still alone all day while their family members work.
The need for the Meals on Wheels program has increased significantly. There are 650 meals delivered daily, which is a big uptick from when Daley began her job 14 years ago.
“When I first started we were in the 400 range, and we’ve been as high as 700,” says Daley. “There’s been a huge increase as more and more people are making the choice to stay in their homes.”
As the number of recipients of Meals on Wheels program increases, so does the need for volunteers.
“We have 43 routes that have to be covered each day, and because a lot of volunteers work for us once a week, we usually utilize 200 volunteers in a week’s time,” says Daley.
Since volunteers not only give their time but their gas, as the prices for fuel have increased, it becomes harder and harder to recruit for Meals on Wheels.
And getting each and every meal delivered isn’t just a matter of going hungry or not.
“In Covington, we had a couple of volunteers that couldn’t get a lady to answer the door,” says Daley. “They took bricks to the storm door, got in, found she’d had a stroke and got her to the hospital.”
From the extremes of saving a bedridden senior from a fire to simply being a smiling face checking in daily, the volunteers for Meals on Wheels are heroes. There just need to be a few more of them.
“I truly believe we have saved some lives,” says Daley.
How You Can Help
Give to Meals on Wheels. While the program receives funds from state and federal governments, United Way and Foundation for the Roanoke Valley, the needs for Meals grows each year. Often donations and funds do not match that need. To donate, please make checks payable to LOA Meals on Wheels and send to P.O. Box 14205, Roanoke, VA 24038 or go to loaa.org.
Donate your time. A total of 43 routes are run every day with 650 meals being distributed. More volunteers are needed all the time. To volunteer, contact Michele Daley, Director of Nutritional Services, at 345-0454 ext 3027.
