photos by Jeff Harbin, Life of Riley Photography

I Knew You Would Come

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When I showed up at Northwest Texas Hospital to ride along with a Meals on Wheels volunteer, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew a little about the process of delivering meals because my dad was a volunteer, but I’d never done it myself. I envisioned spending the lunch hour delivering an entire car load (or maybe even a van full) of meals to the elderly as quickly and efficiently as possible. Luckily, that’s not how things work at Meals on Wheels.

First I was greeted by Don Appling, a servant in the truest sense of the word. Don packages the meals by route and checks on nutritional requirements. If a volunteer can’t complete a route, he also fills in where ever he’s needed. After a kind hello, he was off to finish his work, and it was time to get started on ours.

Elaine Jordan, a retired third grade teacher, was kind enough to take me along on her lunch route. She’s a kind, warm-hearted lady who was instantly likeable. For the past 13 years, Elaine has delivered between seven to nine meals every Monday but on that particular day, had orders for only five. For her, this means getting to spend an extra few minutes doing what she calls “95 percent” of the job – listening to and sharing with the people she visits once a week.

According to Elaine, Meals on Wheels makes it easy to be a volunteer and I was impressed with the amount of detail that they provide for their drivers. When they pick up their meals, every volunteer also receives a print-out that lets them know who they’ll be delivering to along with each person’s nutritional needs or preferences, special instructions regarding entering each residence, and clear directions to each home. If a volunteer needs to skip a day, Meals on Wheels fills the slot with a substitute driver, providing their workers with much-needed flexibility. In fact, some volunteers only do sub-in work rather than keeping the same route every week.

That’s how Elaine first became acquainted with the program. She subbed for a friend and discovered that she really liked it. She’s become attached to each of the people she’s visited and it’s evident that they are very special to her. Rather than seeing her volunteer work as a chore that she can mark off of her to-do list for the day, Elaine spends time with each lonely person before moving on to the next stop. And they are truly happy to see her. She listens to stories that she’s heard time and again without ever saying, “I know. You told me that already.” For just a few minutes, each person has her undivided attention as she asks about events from the past week, makes sure they are feeling well, gets their lunch ready to eat, and maybe even takes out the trash.

Elaine knows that her visits mean more than just a nutritious, hot meal. For most of her clients, the Meals on Wheels volunteer might be the only person they see all day. The chance to talk to another person “keeps them going” and gives them a reason to get out of bed. Her people know that she’ll be there without fail and that if she’s late, it’s only because she’s talking. Once when one of her clients failed to answer the door, she found her sitting on the floor between her dresser and the bed. It startled Elaine, but the client said, “I’m okay. I knew you would come, so I was just sitting here waiting on you.”

Drivers deliver lunch meals every day, Monday through Friday, and some people receive meals through churches on Sunday. The way Elaine sees it, each person is waiting everyday for a hot meal and a little cheer. A visit from a volunteer also offers a check-up that each person might not have otherwise. Elaine told me several stories about volunteers going by a home and discovering someone who had fallen or gotten ill, enabling Meals on Wheels to call for medical help and alert family members.

While Elaine acknowledges that this type of volunteer work isn’t for everyone, she is quick to tell me, “There is more joy to it than sadness and more blessing than hardship. It makes you feel good that you were able to help them.”

by Michele McAffrey

Born and raised in Amarillo, Michele enjoys cooking for her large family and spending time with them on the weekend.

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