Meals on Wheels of Ramsey County is loosing $70,000 in Federal Funding in 2011. The daily promise of hot food and the personal contact of smiling volunteers will be replaced by the offer of Presbyterian Homes: a paid driver delivering frozen meals once a week.

Our meal deliveries are so much a part of our schedule, I wondered if I would have anything to share about our visit today, but this bad news has me riled up.

Little Miss Three dressed as a cowgirl this morning to knock on doors and share her cheeriest exclamation, “Meals on Wheels! We have your lunch!”

While her choice of words make it sound like a kidnapped lunch held for ransom, her enthusiasm is always met with smiles, stories of grandchildren, and an occasional squeeze of her pudgy little hand. Our seven easy stops took more than an hour only because our clients stuck up conversations with us, relishing a bit of contact with someone new.

Let me be honest, I spend most of my time with young children. I relished that contact too. The human connections I’ve made through Meals on Wheels, though brief, have added a rich dimension to my life.

It’s appalling to me that the personal touch of daily volunteers is about to be overthrown in favor of microwave dinners. Suddenly our Meals on Wheels day has become a day of civic engagement. I’ve shared my thoughts  with the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging, which distributes the federal funds in question.  The girls drew pictures of their favorite thing about making their deliveries, and I wrote a short letter.

Why shouldn’t Ramsey County’s MOW be supplanted by a microwave?

• As I said, our 7 stops took an hour because nearly every client wanted a bit of time to visit.
• My daughters benefit greatly from the experience of caring for others, learning about local hunger issues, and making connections with older people in our neighborhood.
• MOW is one of the best opportunities for young children to volunteer directly with clients.
• While some MOW around the country have had to close because of a lack of volunteers, Ramsey County isn’t one of them. I’m proud to say my area has a thriving volunteer corps, many of them loyal MOW volunteers who have built true relationships with their clients.

This is about community. It’s about keeping people fed as well as connected, even if they live alone. Even if they don’t have great mobility. It’s about keeping people in their homes, happily.

Tags: In the News, Meals on Wheels, Social Action

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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