DOING VITAL WORK FOR THOSE IN

A DEDICATED TEAM OF SOME 30 VOLUNTEERS ARE ENSURING THAT PEOPLE WHO MAY BE ISOLATED OR COCOONING ARE ABLE TO ENJOY A HOT MEAL

WHEN the service was founded by the St John of God Order 50 years ago, those plucky volunteers could never have foreseen how vital it would become in the unprecedented situation in which we find ourselves. With so many people self-isolating or ‘cocooning’ in line with government and HSE recommendations to prevent them from contracting Covid-19, the option of having a hot meal delivered to their door is something which could make all the difference to them.

In the kitchens at St Bridget’s Day Centre in Clifford Street, staff have been cooking up a storm. Each day, more than sixty meals emerge, before being loaded into the cars and vans of volunteers who in turn bring them right to the door of elderly or vulnerable people in the community.

It’s an extremely efficient system and one that manager Sean Kinsella says has the capacity to expand in the coming weeks as demand requires.

‘Business has certainly increased with the virus alright,’ he said.

‘Thankfully, we can well cater for it. We have first class equipment and great kitchen, along with a team of around 30 volunteers who deliver all over. We’ve had extra volunteers come on board in recent weeks and we’re very grateful. It’s wonderful to see the goodwill out there and that people are prepared to give more time and effort to help others.’

While you’d imagine the service is coming under pressure in the past couple of weeks, in actual fact, Sean says that they are hoping to help even more people.

‘We could take in many more people in more rural surrounding areas such as down around Kilmore, Piercestown, Castlebridge, Crossabeg, those type of places. If people are feeling lonely or isolated in those places, they can be sure of a good dinner and we can provide one for every day of the week. The way it tends to work is our volunteers will deliver one hot meal to them on the day and bring a cold meal to have the following day too.’

Sean has stressed that anyone who is feeling the pressure, needs only to pick up the phone and call them on 053 9123337 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday to Saturday and they’ll do their best to help.

For just €5, people can choose a soup starter or a dessert to go with a dinner. The meals vary each day and all kinds of dietary requirements are catered for. Among the popular dishes that make their way out of the Clifford Street kitchen are bacon and cabbage, stew, roast chicken, fish, pork, lamb and much more.

Apart from providing hot meals, the service can be much more important than that for those who make use of it and the team of dedicated volunteers involved go above and beyond.

‘I suppose there is a social context to it too,’ Sean said. ‘Obviously we have to adhere to social distancing guidelines and all that, but our volunteers are very good that if someone they’re calling to needs some other message picked up or that kind of thing, they’ll do their best to look after them.’

‘Things are going very well at the moment,’ Sean concluded. ‘But we are a little bit concerned about people in the more rural areas around the outskirts. Town is very well managed at the moment, so these people can feel free to get in touch with us and we’ll do our best to look after them.’

Again, the number for Wexford Meals on Wheels is 053 9123337 and they can be contacted from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Saturday.