In North Texas, Meals on Wheels is more than a community nonprofit—it’s a lifeline for homebound and disabled seniors who need convenient access to food. Volunteers are responsible for delivering meals, but both Dallas and Tarrant County are sorely lacking in assistance.
Around 5-10 Dallas routes and close to 40 Tarrant routes are uncovered as of writing. That leaves a significant number of people who are now struggling to feed themselves. Gas prices being on the rise and an increase in individuals seeking help from the program are two of the main factors contributing to this lack of deliveries.
Inga Wilson, who serves as the Vice President of Meals on Wheels with Dallas’s Visiting Nurse Association, told CBS News, “The need is great. Right now, if we don’t have enough volunteers and drivers to deliver the meals, then some of the seniors won’t get their hot meals today.”
Coolers are being consistently packed and loaded, with all current volunteers working to distribute as many as possible to ensure seniors aren’t going without their hot meals. Elizabeth Orozco recently signed up to help and opted to bring her two children with her to deliver meals on her designated route.
Orozco said it’s “totally worth it. I don’t even think about the gas.” When asked about why she volunteers and brings her kids along, the Texas mom got emotional. “You know, you see a little glimmer of hope in them, that someone is going to do something for them. So maybe it’s like they don’t have family out here or they don’t have many connections. And I feel like when we go and deliver, we give that hope to them.”
Another volunteer, David Crisp, said he similarly feels like the added expense of gas is worth it to help people in his community. “You know, I’m not curing world hunger, but if everybody did a little bit, it’d be a better place,” he said. Crisp has also become friends with some of the seniors he frequently delivers meals to.
Even CEO and VNA President Chris Culak lends a hand to help fill distribution gaps. “I try to deliver my route every week so I can knock on the door, talk to those clients, see how they’re doing, really be part of what we’re asking volunteers to do,” he said. Culak added, “It reminds me of why we do what we do.”
Volunteers help the community in more ways than one
Meals on Wheels volunteers do more than simply deliver hot food to members of their community. They also effectively serve as a touchpoint for disabled and homebound seniors who may not have anyone in their lives who are actively checking in on them.
This is especially crucial during tough stretches, like the hot summer months when it may be difficult for seniors to keep cool. People over the age of 65 are most at-risk of developing heat-related illnesses, so it’s important for someone to keep track of whether they have what they need to prevent those issues from occurring.
Inga Wilson said helping people every day is the most rewarding aspect of working with Meals on Wheels. “That’s my life purpose,” she told CBS News. “How do I help make people’s lives better? Each and every day? We get to do that here.” And it takes less time than you’d think to make this significant impact.
Philip Gonzalez, who works with Meals on Wheels in Tarrant County, said, “Any volunteer who volunteers for us, [it] usually takes an hour, hour and a half a day. So, if you have that amount of time, one day a week, you’re really going to make a difference in our clients’ lives.”
If you’d like to learn more about volunteer opportunities and how to sign up for route deliveries, please click here and here.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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