by Christine Whelan-FEO
Jan 20, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 11
Fifty years ago, Meal on Wheels came out of six kitchens in Fort Erie. A number of ladies from different congregations in town started preparing meals in their own kitchens and delivering them to people who needed a meal.
Officially coming to Fort Erie on November 9th of 1971, this movement developed with the collaboration of six ladies: Kathleen Teal, who became the first President of the organization, Betty Mindorff, Margaret Phillips, Jean Jobson, Doris Love, and Louise Coshan.
The organization was incorporated in December of 1971 and started its services in the community in January of 1972, growing and remaining as a volunteer-only effort for many years.
Initial meals were made for seven clients by the kitchen staff of Douglas Memorial Hospital for $0.65 a meal, carried in a cooler heated in advance by two hot water bottles. Deliveries were made two to three times a week.
Eventually, sixty women gathered from six church groups which included Central Avenue United Church, Queen St. United Church, St. Andrew’s Knox Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, St. Michael’s Catholic Church and Trinity Lutheran Church, cooking meals to meet the needs of their community.
Nancy Ryan became the first paid employee for the Fort Erie organization as Program Manager. She held that role for 17 years.
MEALS ON WHEELS, FORT ERIE – TODAY
John Newton, the Board’s Chair, is going on 16 years in his role. He describes Meals on Wheels as “something that is near and dear to my heart. It’s so important to me that the members of our community get the nutritionally based meals that they need.”
Nicole Marshall took over the role of Program Manager from Nancy Ryan and has held the position for the last five years.
Tim Wisbey has been with the organization, “six months shy of twenty years. I have a sales background like John. I find myself in the role of Treasurer and I work towards turning the pennies into nickels. Unfortunately, I’m finding the nickels are falling by way of the pennies these days. Fortunately for us, and I’m sure as well with other organizations, we found some funding available through the government that has sustained us over the last couple of years.”
WHAT IS MEALS ON WHEELS?
The Meals
Tim described, “Our program offers both frozen and hot meals. The frozen meals are now prepared by the Ina Grafton Retirement Residence in St. Catharines and then flash-frozen and brought to Fort Erie once a week on Wednesdays and delivered to the clients. The clients need to order a week’s worth of frozen meals in advance, however many they require. The hot meals are prepared by a small catering company out of Ridgeway, 13 Carrots Catering.
“We have a six-week calendar that clients can look at to order from. The frozen and hot meal menus are separate and the prices are different.”
But Not Just a Meal
John explained, “Meals on Wheels is not just about a meal, much more. It’s a social program and a check-in. Sometimes our volunteers are the only people our clients see in a day. So, there’s a wellness check portion to the whole delivery of the meals to the clients.”
Especially in these days, this service is crucial to community wellness. It’s about connection and fighting against isolation.
CHALLENGES
Newton explained that the biggest challenges the organization faces come from two different fronts. “First, we need to let people know we are here and that the program is accessible to them. We need to get the word out there.”
Recently, there has been a bigger challenge to obtain the funds needed to operate the services to meet the needs. “People’s focuses may have changed. Some of those who have supported us are no longer around. We’re funded through the Ontario Government but not fully funded so we have to fundraise or find other means to get the funding to operate the organization.”
Wisbey, as Treasurer, stated, “I can tell you that, our last fiscal year, ending in March, we had 38 service organizations that donated to us. We are a little below that this year but we have about four months to go. I think we’re pretty balanced. We receive funding through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) but that is down as well because the bingo halls have been closed down on and off lately.”
He added, “Beyond the 38 service organizations, businesses, etc., there have been the many individuals who donated. Some people don’t belong to a specific club, group or business in the community but they themselves donate simply because they feel we are needed in the community.”
Another significant challenge the organization has had is establishing communication with the children of the seniors they are providing service for. Sometimes their clients’ children live out of town and the volunteers are the regular contact with their parents.
Tim began, “Regarding the wellness or safety check aspect, we’ve had instances where we’ve had people who have needed medical assistance and it was our volunteers who discovered the need.”
Nicole added, “We’ve had an instance where the volunteer has gone to deliver the meal and discovered that the client has fallen. The volunteer called us from their cell phone. We were able to get in contact with the family member and the family member rushed right over. The volunteer stayed with the client until the family member arrived.”
They all contributed to sharing different situations that have come up. “We have trained the volunteers on what to do, which is usually to call us or 911, then stay until someone arrives.”
Tim addressed a further aspect of safety. “We do require that all volunteers have a police check before anyone enters a client’s house.” It’s called the Vulnerable Sector Check and Meals on Wheels reimburses the volunteers for it.
AWARENESS
Wisbey shared, “In the past, not just to raise funds but to raise awareness of our services, we’ve been out in the community ourselves running BBQ days at Sobey’s and multiple trivia nights. We’ve hosted community bingo nights where we’ve sold the tickets. We’ve done a number of things over the years. When we’re able, we will certainly get back at it again because we need to remind the community we are around.
Nicole added that another awareness piece she would like more known in the community is that, when it comes to those who are eligible, the delivered meals are not only for the clients but for their caregivers. “This is a detail that is highly missed and we try to promote this becomes it helps with burnout. We try to give the caregiver that support, so they don’t have to take the time to make their own meal while caregiving.”
A caregiver can be a family member or friend who has been spending time assisting, not necessarily living in the client’s home.
THESE DAYS
The new restrictions on Wednesday, January 5th did not change anything for the organization, but still moving forward as usual, with the exception of trying to limit the contact between their volunteers and clients. “Other than that, things have been pretty consistent throughout the pandemic,” Nicole shared.
“At the start, with the original days of the pandemic, we did switch to only the frozen meals but we have incorporated the hot meals back into the program since then. Our meal numbers have gone up since the beginning of the pandemic, levelling out in recent months. However, we are now into the winter months which is when our numbers normally go up.”
Nicole wanted to add, “Because of the pandemic, we’ve had to put our monthly luncheon on hold.” She explained, “We normally host a lunch where, not just our clients can come and participate, but anyone from the community. They would just contact us and we would reserve a seat for them. It’s a nice little social outing for them. We hope to resume these luncheons because the clients and members of the community looked forward to them.”
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Nicole reached out, “We are always looking for volunteers, not just for delivering the meals but for board members. Anyone interested can contact the office.”
As far as board members, “As the times are evolving, we are hoping for someone who is tech-savvy and can help us with our website,” she commented.
John added, “Also, someone who has the skills set in the HR area would be appreciated.”
For Meals on Wheels, they are looking for anybody who has a passion for helping people in the community, recognizing that it’s not just about the meal; there’s a social value.
Marshal is optimistic. “It’s an ongoing journey and we look forward to what’s ahead for Meals on Wheels.”
They are hoping to have a celebration for the 50th if the restrictions lift in the near future.
You can find Meals on Wheels at 32 Idylwylde Street, running out of St. Paul’s Church, at the corner of Idylwylde and Niagara Blvd. The entrance is from the Niagara Boulevard. To call, phone (905) 871-9366.
photo; FEMOW volunteers, John Bond, Harold Baker, Matt Gardiner
