Maintaining a healthy meal plan throughout the week is difficult for many people.
For those with mobility issues it can be even harder. Shopping for groceries and preparing three proper meals a day can be almost impossible to do without help.
During the past 46 years, the North Shore Meals on Wheels program has been delivering that help.
Each week, more than 120 volunteers help prepare and deliver hot meals to clients across the North Shore from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. Between 11,000 and 12,000 meals are delivered each year.
Don Murray, board chairman for the local Meals on Wheels society, says he believes without their service many clients would not be able to continue living on their own at home. Most of the clients are seniors and some are people who have recently returned home from a hospitalization and are undergoing some rehabilitation.
“It’s mostly folks that primarily due to mobility issues can’t get out easily to shop let alone cook, and so we provide a service whereby they can have a hot meal delivered to their door three times a week,” says Murray.
Hot meals are delivered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and many clients purchase more than one meal so they have one to re-heat the next day as well.
Each meal is $6.50 and includes an entrée, soup, a roll and dessert. Diabetic meals are also available.
The food is prepared at Cheers Restaurant in North Vancouver and is delivered in bulk to two local churches where it’s broken down into meals by volunteers and packaged into travelling containers to be delivered.
“Most people use it as a supplement,” says Murray about the food.
The meals are often bought by adult children of seniors who want to ensure their parents get a decent hot meal at least a few times a week.
In addition to the food, the Meals on Wheels drivers also provide some human interaction, notes Murray.
“We are sometimes the only person that they see in the day,” he says.
The volunteer drivers are not required to be first-aid certified, but Murray says they can provide some measure of safety because they visit their clients on a regular basis and can call for help if needed. There have been times when a driver has had to call emergency services for a client in some medical distress, he notes.
Meals on Wheels is a non-profit group. The cost of the meals just covers the cost of the food, and Murray says the program would not be possible without their many volunteers.
“We’ve got a great bunch of volunteers and many of them stay volunteers for many, many years,” he says, adding they are always looking for more volunteers.
The program is supported by donations, including from Vancouver Coastal Health and the three North Shore municipalities.
For more information, visit the website at northshoremealsonwheels.org.
