Volunteers sought to deliver meals to seniors in WB

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Meals on Wheels has been delivering food to people in need for around seven decades, and one of its outreach directors is seeking help from residents to assist in the nonprofit’s local efforts.

Meals on Wheels supports more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country to address senior hunger and isolation, according to its website.

Aside from delivering food, volunteers provide a welfare check on community seniors and give them someone to talk to, even if only for a brief period of time per visit.

Candie Hovarter is the outreach director for the Livingston County Senior Nutrition Program and Western Oakland Meals on Wheels, which, she said, serves meals throughout all of Livingston County and much of Oakland.

The nonprofit is in search of some help in the West Bloomfield area. According to Hovarter, meals for local residents get delivered to the West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation building at around 9:30 a.m. on weekdays, and volunteers come to pick them up and receive their delivery routes.

She estimated that there are typically 10-13 stops per volunteer.

According to Hovarter, those requesting assistance are “supposed to be over 60 and homebound.”

“Sometimes they’re waiting for (you),” Hovarter said. “They’re pretty cute; they’re standing there like they’re ready.”

From Hovarter’s perspective, checking in on seniors is as impactful as delivering meals.

“The food is equally as important as talking to them and making sure they’re OK,” she said. “We’re doing a wellness check every time.”

If a volunteer has any concerns about how someone is doing, it can be reported to the local Meals on Wheels office.

West Bloomfield resident Ruth Dziuba has been a volunteer with Meals on Wheels for approximately four years.

After retiring from a teaching position with the West Bloomfield School District in 2020, she got bored.

“I thought a good volunteer job would fill in that gap,” Dziuba said.

Dziuba said that her routes typically take two to three hours, although it can be longer on occasion.

The individuals she delivers to aren’t the only ones getting something out of it. Dziuba said volunteering has been “very rewarding.”

“I haven’t met anyone except really nice people doing this,” she said. “The people have varying needs. I have delivered to people whose instructions say, ‘Come right in, put it on the counter,’ (because) that person’s in a wheelchair or something like that. I have had people that really wanted to talk because they were lonely, and I love to talk, so that was easy. It’s been a very pleasant exchange.”

Meals on Wheels delivers Mondays-Fridays. If a senior requests food on the weekends, frozen meals can be delivered during the week to be saved for Saturday and Sunday.

Dziuba said she typically delivers to residential homes or apartments on Thursdays.

“It makes me feel good to be able to help other people and make them feel good,” she said. “I enjoy what I do a whole lot.”

Hovarter said seniors are “thrilled” to have someone come to see them and for the meals.

“For some of these seniors, we are their food source,” she said. “They don’t have anybody to help them. … Some of these people – it’s a weird time we’re living in – but they don’t have anybody. They don’t have any family around to help them. … They’re like, isolated.”

According to its national website, Meals on Wheels was created as a partnership between the federal government and the public, with the Older Americans Act paying for approximately one-third of its funding, and local communities and private resources generating the rest.

According to mealsonwheelsmi.org, there is funding through the Area Agency on Aging 1-B and other contributors.

Hovarter said that routes are typically the same for volunteers.

From her perspective, one of the best parts of what Meals on Wheels does is allow seniors to remain living in their homes.

“Usually, their homes are paid for, and they’re comfortable there,” Hovarter said. “They’re familiar with that. A lot of times when you move ‘em … they struggle with the change.”

According to Dziuba, seniors receive a variety of meals, which are nutritionally balanced.

Hovarter estimated that there are currently approximately 20 volunteers.

“I don’t know how this is going to go … if we can’t get more people to get involved,” she said. “It’s their community. It’s their neighbors. … I think they feel rewarded by it. … You could be done … at 11:30. … It’s not all day, and you’re making somebody’s day.”

For more information, call (810) 632-2155 or visit mealsonwheelsmi.org.