More than just a meal

Marion Polk Food Share’s Meals on Wheels program fills a vital nutritional need for homebound seniors and disabled adults in our community. Every weekday, about 800 people in Salem and Keizer rely on dedicated volunteer drivers to deliver healthy meals straight to their doors.

Meals on Wheels is much more than a meal, though. On top of nutritious food, the home delivery program provides meaningful personal connections and valuable safety checks that allow seniors facing limited mobility and isolation to continue living independently in their own homes and communities.

For Sylvia, a widow who lives alone, the safety checks that drivers like Charles provide with daily meal deliveries are invaluable.

Charles is a longtime volunteer who has gotten to know Sylvia well over the years. One morning last fall, when Charles was making one of his twice-weekly deliveries to Sylvia’s house, he suspected something was amiss when she didn’t answer repeated knocks at the door — despite seeing her car parked in its usual spot.

“If her car’s gone, then I know she’s not home,” Charles says. “If the car’s there, and she hasn’t said anything and there’s no answer, then I’m concerned.”

Not wanting to leave without knowing Sylvia was safe, Charles tried calling to her from another window. There, he was able to get her attention — and that’s when it became obvious that there was a problem.

It took a while to get Sylvia to the window to start communicating, Charles says. But even as she began responding she seemed to be losing consciousness. Charles knew something was wrong.

Sylvia remembers getting to the window and exchanging hellos with Charles. From there, however, she began to drift off. “I said, ‘Charles, I don’t feel good,’” she recalls.

“It was obvious we needed to get in the house,” Charles replies.

Sylvia managed to communicate that her neighbor had a key, so Charles hurried to get the key and call the Meals on Wheels office to alert them of the situation. When he returned, another neighbor had also stopped by to help.

Fortunately, on this day Charles was accompanied by his friend Terry, a retired police officer that Charles was training on Meals on Wheels delivery. When they got into the house, Sylvia’s friend comforted her while Terry used his emergency response experience to help Charles address the situation. Terry suggested they step outside to call paramedics, then move the cars to make room for emergency vehicles.

When EMTs arrived, they determined that she was severely dehydrated and helped stabilize her without a trip to the hospital. Sylvia has low blood pressure and is on dialysis. This makes her prone to dizziness if she stands up too quickly without being properly hydrated, which is what happened that day.

For Charles, it reinforced his belief that checking in on clients is the most critical part of the job. “These people have become my family,” he says, noting that interactions with drivers are sometimes the only human contact they’ll have that day.

“I know personally how important human interaction is because I have little of it in my life,” Charles continues. “I know there are people like Sylvia, she’s one of the people who truly needs need the social interaction and the contact from [volunteers] as much as she needs the food.”

Sylvia agrees and is grateful that Charles acted so quickly and called for help. These friendly check-ins every day help her continue to live independently — and safely — in the home she knows and loves.

Your gifts help older neighbors in need of food and support. Thank you for your compassion.