Meals on Wheels helps couple on road to recovery

Bonnie and James had always been independent, but James can no longer drive, and Bonnie has had limited mobility since her knee surgery. Trips to the grocery store are not an option. They didn’t want to burden their busy children, and ordering in every day wasn’t feasible.

The couple found a solution in Marion Polk Food Share’s Meals on Wheels program, which provides meal delivery five days a week to residents of Salem and Keizer. Last year, program volunteers served 600 daily meals to disabled adults and homebound seniors like Bonnie and James.

In addition to a meal, the service fosters valuable social interactions — from a safe distance — between homebound seniors and the volunteers that deliver food to their doors. From the day he first applied for the program, James was taken with the friendliness displayed by Meals on Wheels volunteers.

Bonnie and James have now been receiving meals for several months, and despite the time that has passed, Bonnie still marvels at the generosity of the volunteers that donate their time to prepare food and deliver it to her door.

“You can’t expect somebody to bring you a meal in, and they do that,” she said. “Every day you know you’re going to get something to eat.”

Marion Polk Food Share’s Meals on Wheels program provides Bonnie and James not just with meals, but also stability, community, and comfort. The result is a smoother road to recovery for Bonnie and an easier transition into what could have been a much more difficult period in their lives.

“For me it’s really a lifesaver,” Bonnie said. “It’s really helped us when we needed it.”