A day in the life: North County Meals on Wheels

Volunteers for North County Meals on Wheels pick up their meals at a centralized drop-off spot then make more than 100 deliveries every weekday.

It’s a Thursday morning in the parking lot of St. Mark’s Church on Graham Road, and despite the fact that it’s raining buckets, volunteers for North County Meals on Wheels are not deterred. When the van carrying fresh-cooked meals from Christian Hospital arrives, all ten of them leap from their cars and quickly grab the coolers and neatly stacked containers for their delivery routes.

Every weekday, there are 21 lunch routes to be completed, serving more than 100 senior citizens and handicapped people all over North County. And though Christian Hospital’s food service department generously prepares the meals at cost, charging patrons just $3.25, it’s the volunteer delivery drivers – many of them elderly themselves – who really make Meals on Wheels possible.

One of those volunteers, Pat Jackson, has been delivering meals since 1996, and she’s kind enough to let me tag along for the day. Our route covers a swath of Hazelwood between Lindbergh and Howdershell, and as we wind through the neighborhood in Pat’s diminutive Smart Car, she flips through a small stack of index cards marked with customers’ names and addresses.

“If you’re ever new to town, Meals on Wheels is a great way to learn the lay of the land,” she says. “Plus, you usually drive the same route every week, so you can really get to know the people you’re delivering to.”

Our first stop is Jim, one of Pat’s regulars, and he greets us with a big smile. His wife is in a care facility, and he doesn’t get around very well anymore, so Meals on Wheels is a great convenience for him. “I can’t give you a complaint about it…except the zucchini,” he tells me with a laugh. “I don’t like the zucchini!”

Aside from the option of fish during Lent, Meals on Wheels customers do not get to choose their lunch, though special diets can be coordinated through their doctor. “Stuffed shells is our least popular dish,” Pat says as we head to our next stop. “Nobody likes it.”

But just around the corner, Mildred doesn’t seem to mind. Relatively new to the program, she tells me she’s been pleasantly surprised by the food. “The people are nice and the quality is better than expected,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed it very much.”

Just a few blocks over, we arrive at Harry’s house. He and Pat have an ongoing competition to see who can get to the door first, and today he’s the winner. Standing ready with his used containers, he’s thrilled to see Pat but won’t let me take his photo. He forgot to put his teeth in.

“You never know if they want you to come in and visit or not,” Pat tells me. “But sometimes they really welcome the company.”

Two more stops, again within blocks. Both are new customers recovering from surgery. Then we make a U-turn or two – ironically, Pat has “directional dyslexia” – and finally arrive at our last stop, Irene’s house.

Pat has come to know Irene, 91, quite well and usually saves her for last so there’s time to sit down and talk. With a quick knock, we walk right into Irene’s living room and find her sitting at her kitchen table. She has had lupus since an early age and has suffered multiple broken backs and other painful injuries, but today she’s in good spirits. She just learned that her son is now cancer-free.

“He’s my first-born and I just love him so much,” she says, still emotional from the news. “He calls me a tough old broad, and I guess I am. I may have my problems, but who doesn’t?”

Until he got sick, Irene’s son used to be her primary caregiver, following her husband’s death ten years ago. But facing chemotherapy, radiation and several surgeries, he was unable to help her as much. That’s when Irene’s doctor suggested Meals on Wheels.

“You can’t beat the food,” she says. “It may not be top chef billing but it’s still good nourishment… I really don’t care for the turkey but I was taught to finish my plate, so I do.”

Indeed, Pat collects Irene’s used containers and they’re all empty and clean. We say goodbye to Irene and head over to the Graham Road Medical Center, where the containers are dropped off and returned to Christian Hospital. Inside is the Meals on Wheels office.

Volunteer Mary Lou Nolde stands beside a map showing all 21 North County Meals on Wheels routes.

Also staffed by volunteers, this is where customers call in to sign up for the program. Mary Lou Nolde, who has been with Meals on Wheels for three years, is responsible for asking them things like, “Are you home-bound? Do you use a walker or cane? Can you pay?”

“Sometimes we have to negotiate the cost and cover some of it ourselves,” Mary Lou says. “If we feel they really need it, that is a possibility.”

She and other volunteers also send customers birthday cards and Christmas stockings – anything to make them feel like they’re not alone. “Sometimes we are their only connection to the outside world.”

And yet, both Pat and Mary Lou tell me, North County Meals on Wheels operates with a shoestring staff, and many of the volunteers are actually good candidates for Meals on Wheels themselves.

“We could use volunteers across the board,” Pat says. “I knew we were in trouble the day I watched one of my drivers pick up his cooler of drinks in one hand and support himself with his cane in the other hand as he made his way to his car.”

“We could always use more help,” Mary Lou reiterates. “And it’s not necessarily a big time commitment. Some of our volunteers put in just one or two hours a month. Whatever you can give.”

“Where are the stay-at-home moms, the empty nesters and the young retirees?” Pat wonders. “It seems like there are plenty of people out there who could spare an hour or so.”  And NOCO fans, I have to agree. After seeing how much joy you can bring to some of North County’s most needy residents in such a short amount of time, I also wonder why more people don’t volunteer with this amazing nonprofit.

Founded in 1975, North County Meals on Wheels receives no government funding and instead relies on donations from church groups, civic organizations, businesses and individuals. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation or learn more about volunteer opportunities, call the office at (314) 953-6800 – 10am to 1pm, Monday through Friday. I guarantee you won’t be sorry!

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