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Meals On Wheels Seeks New Recruits

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By LAURA FRAZIER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 27, 2007

A small army of volunteers hit the streets of Brandon each weekday. Their mission: to deliver hot, home-style meals, along with a side dish of fellowship, to people unable to shop or cook for themselves.

However, to meet the growing needs of the burgeoning Brandon community, Meals on Wheels is now calling for reinforcements.

The Brandon chapter of Meals on Wheels, a nonprofit group founded in 1976, is run solely by volunteers. More than 250 recruits gather each week at 16 participating churches to prepare, package and distribute the meals.

About 140 elderly, sick or disabled residents confined to their homes receive the free or low-cost meals. Many more have applied for the program, but they'll have to wait until more churches and volunteer drivers enlist to help out.

Volunteer Cathy Patrick said the group is sending out an urgent call to draft more volunteers.

"We'd like to get to the point where we don't have anyone on a waiting list. We desperately need help to expand our reach," she said.

"We are praying that some new churches would like to help. Some of our churches have full kitchens; others have nothing more than a slow-cooker and some simply provide a meeting and meal-assembly place for a few hours each day. Every church does it a little differently, and we're very flexible."

Start-up funds and food prep volunteers are available to offer basic training to new churches. There's also a pressing need for drivers willing to deliver meals to five homebound residents once a week. Deliveries generally take about an hour. Drivers pick up the meals and destination directions between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at the church of their choice.

Patrick has served in many capacities with the organization since 2000 when she volunteered to deliver meals.

"About seven years ago, there was an article in The Brandon News that said Meals on Wheels needed delivery drivers at St. Mark's church in Valrico," she said. "We had just moved to the area and I thought it would be a good way to learn my way around Brandon."

MapQuest printouts in hand, Patrick mastered the local streets. She also made new friends in the process. Her once-a-week visits promised more than a meal to people on her route.
"So many of the people really looked forward to my visits, and I did too," she said.

Senior citizens with limited mobility account for most people receiving meals, she said. However, there are people of all ages in the program. Some are recuperating from acute illnesses, broken bones or surgery. Some are housebound with debilitating conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Many suffer from cancer or heart disease.

One woman on her delivery route was confined to a wheelchair with ALS, known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She and Patrick, both in their 40s, became fast friends.

"I would arrange my delivery schedule so that I'd wind up at her house last. Then I'd have time to sit and talk for awhile, make a pot of coffee and do anything she needed me to," she said. "I'm not delivering meals this year, but I still try to see her when I can. She is a dear friend."

Many recipients or their families offer the $2 donation Meals on Wheels suggests, but it's not required.
"We want medicine and necessities like that to come first," Patrick said.

Meals on Wheels receives no government subsidies. Participating churches make contributions when they can, and a few restaurants and grocery stores make in-kind donations from time to time. For the most part, however, volunteers chip in to pick up the tab for food, packaging and gas.

While they await new recruits, Patrick said the group will do its best to keep up with the growing demand for its services.

Information: Melody Green, 689-8769.

Brandon News Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at lfrazier@mediageneral.com or (813) 657-4523.

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