Home delivery of meals boosts rural seniors
Every weekday around 10 a.m., about 40 volunteers gather in the cafeteria at Memorial Hospital in Marysville, filling the room with chatter and laughter.
Once 10:35 a.m. arrives, however, the cacophony stops, as the volunteers head off to deliver home meals to
Union County’s senior population through the hospital’s Memorial Meals program.
For some volunteers, it’s a 10-minute drive to an apartment complex. For others, it’s a 70-mile round-trip drive that takes them down small, winding country roads.
But no matter how far the volunteers travel, the meals they deliver are crucial to the well-being of the recipients.
Home-delivery meal programs such as Memorial Meals, along with other support services, are set up across the country to help America’s older population live comfortably in their homes as they age. But for Americans living in rural areas, these services can be hard to come by.
“For people who live in the outskirts, it is difficult to get services out there,” said Linda Gillespie, aging and disability resource director at the Central Ohio Agency on Aging. “In the case of homedelivered meals, we have providers who can provide the service, but finding delivery people is an issue.”
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, older people living in rural areas have lessassured access to meals and support services. The GAO says 73% of older adults living in rural areas who participate in a homedelivery meal program reported receiving a meal in the past week, compared with 83% of older adults in urban areas.
It’s an increasingly important issue. According to recent census data, 13 of Ohio’s 88 counties had more people of retirement age (65 or older) in 2018 than children under age 18. The percentage of people over 65 grew in every Ohio county between 2010 and 2018. This growing number of seniors, combined with the travel needed to deliver meals to some rural areas, means some areas may be underserved.
Memorial Meals currently has about 40 volunteers, almost all of whom are retirees, which can present another problem.
“Sometimes we have to ask volunteers to stop because they’re too elderly and can present a safety issue,” said Marilyn Hassinger, the director of food and nutrition at Memorial Hospital. “We also have snowbirds who go down to Florida in the winter, which is probably our biggest staffing challenge. Some leave, but we’ll have some other volunteers pick up extra shifts because they’re so dedicated to the program.”
There are 210 people signed up to receive Memorial Meals, with volunteers delivering an average of 180 meals a day to all corners of Union County. Cooks at the hospital make the food fresh every morning at 6 a.m., while organizers put together a profile of each recipient that lists their allergies, medical restrictions and food preferences.
“Our mission is that they not just receive a meal but that they consume the meal, because that’s really what ultimately keeps them healthy and sustained in their home,” Hassinger said.
Hassinger, who also provides administrative support for Memorial Meals, said she designs the meals to fit the diet of a 65-year-old man. On average, the meals consist of three ounces of protein, two starches, three fruits and vegetables and a dairy product.
In addition to food, the delivery also provides recipients with time to socialize with the delivery person.
“Having someone show up at their house who they know by their first name, who talks to them, has just as much value as the meal,” said Jack Frech, the retired director of Athens County Job and Family Services and long-time anti-poverty advocate. “In the rural areas they’re far less likely to have a neighbor close by and are far more likely to be isolated.”
Hassinger said volunteers often catch medical emergencies while delivering meals. “Every day when the volunteers come back, the first thing I’ll ask them is ‘How was everyone today?’” said Beth Richmond, the coordinator of Memorial Meals. “The volunteers are wonderful.”
In addition to the delivery program, Memorial Meals also offers three meals for members who can gather together. The group meals allow them to get out of their house, enjoy a meal and socialize. The meals also help serve older people in more-urban areas who Frech said might slip through the cracks because people assume someone else is taking care of them.
“These folks are virtually invisible; no one sees them,” Frech said.