Martini Musing - Meals on Wheels Has Stopped Rolling
Times are tough but most of us aren’t really suffering that much. Sure, we wince when we fill up the gas tank, but we’re still driving. And, we’re still paying our fuel bills and putting food on the table.
A lot of people ARE really feeling the pain of the high gas prices - the folks who depend on Meals on Wheels for food, and - probably even more importantly - human contact. I used to do MonW when I lived back east and I often spent more time talking (listening) than I did delivering meals. There was the little 95-year-old lady who loved to talk about lipstick and gardens. The macho Italian Iwo Jima vet with the handlebar mustaches who flirted madly and talked about opera. And so on. It only took a few hours on a Saturday for me to make someone’s (and my) day.
Volunteers all over the country are pulling back and monetary donations are down. In June, MonW reported a 30% reduction in the frequency of delivered meals among 277 of its programs. Some programs that once delivered hot meals daily now save gas by making weekly deliveries of one hot meal and four frozen meals.
“What we’re finding is a crisis situation,” says Enid Borden, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels. “It’s a life-and-death issue.”
Me and my big blue box Jeep are signing up. What about you? Just a few hours a month could make a big difference (and we’re going to get old one day too, ya know. We might really need MonW.) You can find a program here. You can make a monetary donation here.
Tags: Meals on Wheels
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