Meals on wheels recruiting drivers to plug summer gap
Edmonton Meals on Wheels has been delivering meals to vulnerable people since it began almost 50 years ago.
But in summer, the non-profit charity struggles because there are not as many volunteers available. Beginning last Tuesday, the organization launched its 30 in 30 recruitment drive, with the goal to recruit 30 new volunteers in 30 days, from May 22 until June 20.
Meals on Wheels is a service that prepares and delivers daytime and evening meals, often to persons with special mobility needs.
Candace Elliott, 48, has been volunteering once a week for almost a year. She said it opened her eyes to the difficulties of the clients.
“If you lived alone or were sick, how’re you going eat? How’re you going to shop?”
The organization also serves a social function, since drivers visit with clients.
“I watch out the window to see who’s coming,” Margaret Guthrie said during a food delivery Thursday. “It all adds to my day. They’re wonderful.”
Guthrie, 77, is one of the 87 per cent of clients older than 60. Her children signed her up for the service after she had surgery in December. Her father also used the service in the early 2000s.
Jerry Makela, 82, said deliveries are especially helpful in winter, when it’s more difficult for him to get around by scooter.
“It’s been a good thing,” he said. All delivery drivers are volunteers. For daytime deliveries alone, at least 25 drivers are needed.
Besides the summertime volunteer shortage, operations are also growing. The city approved a onetime funding request for $250,000 by Meals on Wheels during its budget meeting in December.
In 2017, the organization produced 176,764 meals and logged 26,273 delivery volunteer hours.