Meals on Wheels seeks help from community

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Drivers are needed to make deliveries for the Meals on Wheels program in West Bloomfield, bringing food to those in need.

The nonprofit provides more than just a meal. For many older adults who are homebound, the delivery drivers also provide friendly human contact on a regular basis.

With summer approaching, more people will be going on vacation. As a result, many of the regular drivers are away and cannot make deliveries, so more volunteers are needed.

“People go out of town a lot, so when they’re gone, then you have to keep on asking the people you already have to deliver (to these routes),” said Candie Hovarter, the outreach director for the Livingston County Senior Nutrition Program and Western Oakland Meals on Wheels. “You don’t want to burn them out.”

This branch of Meals on Wheels services all of Livingston County and much of Oakland County, which includes West Bloomfield, Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake and Sylvan Lake.

Also included are Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Ferndale, Novi, Southfield and Troy.

Hot meals are delivered Monday through Friday to homebound seniors ages 60 and older. This is the only criteria, Hovarter said. The program is not based on income. Some recipients are in their 90s, while others are more than 100 years old.

For some, Meals on Wheels is their only food source, noted Hovarter. In addition to their hot meal delivered on Friday, they also receive frozen meals so they have food for the weekend. The program remembers folks during the holidays and delivers hot meals on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well.

Volunteers can choose their own schedule.

“We like for the volunteer drivers to commit to a day,” Hovarter said.

The volunteer schedule is flexible and is based on the volunteer’s availability. They can commit to a single day every week or every other week, or whatever their schedule allows.

“There’s an immense satisfaction in helping people,” said Ruth Dziuba, who has been a volunteer driver for nearly five years. “And you’re only doing two and a half hours a week. It’s not hard or difficult to do.”

Dziuba enjoys seeing how the recipients improve. She has seen residents go from using a walker to using a cane and then walking without assistance.

“That’s really encouraging,” she said.

In addition to the meals, the program gives seniors some company and assesses them so they can stay in their homes. Hovarter said aging in place is the preferred option.

“You can certainly feel you’ve done a good deed,” she said.

The assessing process is simple, according to the director.

“Just talking to them, making sure they are coherent and everything is good,” she said. “Once you remove a senior, especially, from their home, it’s really disruptive to them. … When the seniors are moved, they don’t get it. They wonder where their kitchen or bathroom is.”

On the rare occasion when she thought the seniors were not OK, Hovarter called an emergency contact or the local police to conduct a wellness check. As it turned out, the senior was asleep and didn’t hear the door, or in other cases was out with family.

Most drivers are met at the door when they deliver the meals. There may be times when they are asked to bring in the food, put it on a bed tray set up in the living room, or place the food in the refrigerator so it can be had later. Some drivers call ahead of time so that the recipient can move their pets first.

“I have never had any concerns,” said Dziuba when asked about how she felt entering a stranger’s home. “I can’t think of a time when anybody was ever rude, ever, in all my time.

“The people I meet (are) always pleasant and happy to see me,” she said. “Partially because I bring them food, but also because they need to talk to somebody, and it’s just really nice to have that contact with people.”

Dziuba said she’s scared that funding might be cut from the program.

“I know that at times we provided breakfast, as well as lunch. And I’m worried that Meals on Wheels needs financial support from the community too,” she said.

The food is prepared in the Meals on Wheels office in Brighton and then brought to the West Bloomfield Department of Recreation, where the drivers pick up the meals.

Hot meals are in insulated bags, while a cooler is provided for storing milk and returned to the recreation center once the deliveries are complete.

There are about a dozen stops on each route. The stops are put in order of their location to prevent the drivers from going back and forth. The drivers are also provided with an iPad to help them navigate the route. They can also download an app on their phone.

Volunteers undergo a background check, training and orientation. It takes about a week for the drivers to get started.

Those interested in becoming a Meals on Wheels driver for West Bloomfield can visit the website mealsonwheelsmi.org or call (810) 632-2155. The same number and website can be used to request assistance or make a donation.

Farmington and Farmington Hills residents looking for a Meals on Wheels delivery can contact (248) 473-1825 for more information.