Island selectmen deliver Meals on Wheels to house-bound Islanders
By Dan Cabot - March 23, 2006
As part of national "Mayors for Meals Day," Island selectmen took a turn yesterday helping to deliver Meals on Wheels (MOW) to home-bound seniors. The day's event was intended to raise awareness about senior nutrition during March "Meals-on-Wheels month." The slogan of the campaign is, "So no senior goes hungry."
On Martha's Vineyard, about 20 volunteers deliver more than 300 nutritionally balanced meals every week to about 70 clients all over the Island. In 2005, volunteer drivers delivered more than 17,000 meals, and an additional 9,000 meals were served in the Island's senior centers. Additional volunteers are always welcome.
Meals on Wheels is part of the nutrition program of Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands. The meals are planned to provide a minimum of one-third of the daily nutrients recommended for older adults. For most home-bound clients, the hot meal MOW delivers is usually the main meal of the day. Some clients also get frozen meals to heat up on weekend days and holidays, when there are no deliveries.
Island selectmen gather at the hospital to deliver Meals on Wheels: (clockwise from front center) volunteer driver Cherish Harris, Skipper Manter, Duncan Ross, Glenn Hearn, Frank Fenner, Tristan Israel, volunteer driver Tom Hiller, Riggs Parker, Warren Doty, and Roger Wey. Absent: Edgartown selectmen, who picked up their clients' meals at the Anchors. Photo by Ralph Stewart
There is no charge for MOW. Clients are asked for a donation of $2 per meal, but it is nobody's business whether they pay anything at all. Drivers are instructed not to report who pays and who doesn't.
On a serious note, MOW drivers may actually save lives. If the client seems ill, the MOW driver calls Elder Services or, in a real emergency, 911. If a client doesn't answer the door and the door is locked, the driver notifies Elder Services on his or her return, and Elder Services calls the emergency contact number on file for each client. If the contact person is unavailable, Elder Services notifies the communications center, which will send a policeman to investigate. Most clients have a relative or a friend who checks on them daily, but MOW is one more human contact, one more member of the community looking out for home-bound seniors and a bit of comfort for those who are nervous about elderly relatives who live alone.
