Home-delivered meals offer nutrition, conversation in Allegheny County and beyond
By Karen Kane, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The circumstances translate to a situation that leaves pockets of
It's mid-morning on a recent Thursday and Carol Lee, 69, of
There are 40-some volunteers like Mrs. Lee with this nonprofit "kitchen." Most of the volunteers make a one-day-per-week commitment. The seven routes operated by this branch of
Right now, the trouble isn't volunteers. It's clients.
Board President
"Sometimes it's that we don't have enough volunteers. It's basically seniors serving seniors and there are times that there are gaps,'' he said.
Then there are the finances. He said the average donation of
Then there's the issue of a changing client base, which presents its own difficulties. "One day, someone [new] will want the service right away because they just had knee surgery or some other medical issue and they can't prepare their own meals for a while. They'll drop off in a couple of weeks. Then, someone [who has been a longtime client] decides to move in with a son or daughter or go into a [facility],'' he said.
Worst of all, by
Erasing a stigma
"We get the sense that some people out there feel like this is welfare. There's a stigma. And we work so hard for people to understand that we consider it our mission to get them the help they need, whether it's for a few weeks or years," he said.
On a recent Thursday, the hot lunch is a marinated chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and peas and carrots. The second meal is a sandwich on whole wheat, filled with at least seven slices of salami, and a cinnamon roll for dessert. Quarts of cold milk are disbursed to clients on Mondays.
Ask someone on the street about home-delivered meals programs, and people will think you're talking about
The first
"
One of the biggest issues for the program was a steady drop in clients, Ms. Davidson said. Her sense is two main reasons are at the root of that: competition from other programs and a burgeoning trend toward "retirement" communities that provide service.
Still, "a lot of the clients we have are the ones who have the fewest choices. They need
Ten meals for
Currently, the average "price" -- it's actually considered a donation -- for 10 delivered meals per week is about
As of
As of late 2013,
While the
The second major contact for home-delivered meals in
At the
The work amounts to a calling.
"I think we all realize that we're giving our [clients] something to look forward. And it's not just about good, nutritious food. It's that someone will come to your house and talk to you. We're kind of a watch dog," she said.
"We can always use more volunteers and we can always use more money. With this economy, people have to work, so they don't have the time to volunteer. And I think that's the reason we're always needing donations -- people need their money," she said, adding, "We need it, too." It's not just the cost of food, which is always climbing. There's also the ancillary costs of operating an organization such as
"I think this is a service that really allows people to be able to stay in their homes. There's outside contact with an individual. There's a nutritious meal a day to keep them stable. For a lot of people, it's a barrier between giving up their homes," Ms. Fay said.
Ms. Matik of the county's
"There is a definite need for these services. It is a big support for someone to get a meal every day and a chance to see a friendly face coming to the door. People have told us that this is a very important part of their life."
For information on receiving meals: 412-350-5460. For information on
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