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By LAURA FRAZIER The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2008

BRANDON - Minna Tickner signed on as a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels 25 years ago, when the national average price of gas was $1.20 a gallon.

The cost reached $4 this week, but Tickner said the increase will not stop volunteers from delivering hot, midday meals to people who cannot shop or cook for themselves.

"We only deliver to shut-ins that have no one with them during the day and can't drive," Tickner said. "If we don't keep going, these people won't have anything to eat. We're not going to let gas prices slow us down."

Brandon Area Churches Meals on Wheels, established 32 years ago by St. Andrew's United Methodist Church and Limona Village Chapel, has teams of volunteers based at 16 local houses of worship. Three or four teams each weekday take turns preparing and delivering lunches to 170 people enrolled in the program, most senior citizens.

Meal recipients are asked to make a $2 donation per meal if they are financially able, but many receive free meals. Some costs are covered by the program's affiliated churches and sporadic donations of food and gas cards from individuals and businesses.

However, Tickner said, volunteers commonly spend their own money to keep the program rolling.

The kitchen at St. Andrew's was filled one day last week with the savory aroma of chicken and yellow rice and the cheerful chatter of volunteers. Styrofoam food containers were popped open and placed around the edge of a long table - 54 of them, ready to be filled with chicken, rice, peas, salad, corn muffins and dessert.

Volunteers commiserated about the price of gas while they went about their duties. As Bill Honae stirred a huge pot of creamed peas on the stove, he said if he eventually finds it necessary to make adjustments to his budget, "I would have to give up something else before I gave up volunteer work."

Edna Standland dished out sugar-free, fat-free pistachio pudding for diabetic patients on the route.

"I think it's worth it," Standland chimed in. "It's only money."

St. Andrew's team coordinator Lil Foster playfully directed the good-natured crew of cooks, drivers and dishwashers by waving a silver soup ladle in the air.

"Folks, get your aprons on, we're ready here," Foster said.

The men lifted heavy pots and pans of food onto rolling carts. They and other volunteers formed an assembly line of sorts and worked in pairs - one pushed a cart around the table, another dished portions of food into each container.

Foster told them there was plenty of food to go around.

"Don't be stingy. And don't forget to make a dent in the rice for the gravy," she said.

Dick Bigelow doled peas into one compartment of the containers. He lives a few miles from the church and logs about 20 miles once a week on his delivery route.

"What's that, about a gallon of gas? I really don't think about it," Bigelow said. "It's a mission of the church."

Bob Ackroyd drives 40 miles round-trip between the church and his home in Riverview. He figures his delivery route adds an additional 20 miles to his travels.

"My car gets good gas mileage, so it's not that bad," Ackroyd said. "Now, if I used my wife's big ol' SUV, that would be a different story."

After the food was dished out, the containers were closed, marked with the date and placed in stacks for each driver. The group gathered around the table stacked with meals and joined hands in prayer.

Bigelow offered a blessing that ended with the words, "Lord, keep us safe in our travels and bring us back safely next week." A dozen drivers then loaded meals into their cars and took off to make their deliveries.

Charlie Monson's first stop was Betty Tope's home in Brandon. Monson, of Valrico, climbed the stairs to Tope's second-story apartment and waited patiently for the elderly woman to come to the door.

Tope eased into a chair in her living room and chatted for a few minutes with her visitor. Monson then handed her the meal and headed for the door.

"Charlie, wait!" Tope called out. "You want to bring me a fork?"

Monson turned on his heels and retrieved utensils from the woman's kitchen. "There ya go, darlin'," he said.

Monson's next stop was in Bloomingdale, where Shirley Kelley is recovering at home from foot surgery. Kelley greeted Monson at the door in her wheelchair.

"You are wonderful, wonderful people," she said.

Monson coaxed a smile to her face when he kidded back, "And we're good lookin', too!"

Kelley lives alone and has no family or friends nearby. A neighbor is kind enough to pick up milk, bread, oatmeal and cold cuts for her on weekends, but she has relied on Meals on Wheels for her main weekday meal for more than a year.

"I have never met such dedicated and loving people in all my life," Kelley said.

She said they bring "perfect and delicious" food, and she looks forward to the little surprises she finds tucked into her lunch.

"There might be a little prayer written on a note, or pictures drawn by the children at church," she said. "It means so much to me."

Kelley is unable to drive and too weak to stand in the kitchen long enough to prepare a regular meal.

"If it weren't for these people, I would probably just be living on sandwiches and not getting proper food to help my health and help me get better," she said. "They're always here. They never miss a day."

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

Melody Green, coordinator for Brandon Area Churches Meals On Wheels, said people of any age who have physical or mental disabilities and are unable to drive or prepare meals for themselves are eligible to receive meals five days a week.

"If there is a need, we will deliver meals to anyone in our area," Green said. "We're not federally funded, so we don't ask any financial questions, and the process is very informal."

Recipients are asked to donate $2 per meal if they are financially able. "If they can't afford it, we will still deliver meals," she said.

For information, call Green at (813) 689-8769.

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

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