Two experiences with Meals on Wheels

My grandma was an active Meals On Wheels volunteer in my hometown and one summer she enlisted my help to deliver meals to the locals who were enrolled in the program. Once a week we go to the meal prep kitchen and load the meals we were to deliver into the car and set out to drop them off. Sometimes when we would deliver meals to the house the senior would be there and answer the door, sometimes a nurse or some other caretaker would answer the door, and sometimes no one would answer and we would simply leave the meal on the front stoop or back porch. During that summer and during our deliveries I remember feeling a sense of guilt about the fact that these seniors had lost or were losing their ability to leave the house or provide and care for themselves. I felt that taking them these premade meals was in some sort of way, patronizing, for these people. Near the end of the summer I expressed this feeling and point of view with my grandma and she told me that she had felt that way a little as well when she started vonunteering but that feeling had faded the longer she spent volunteering and the more she talked with the people who she delivered meals to. Although that helped me feel better about what it, it didn't totally dispel my feelings.





When I went to the strides for seniors event to gather content for the promo video I wasn't sure what to expect. A lot of the feelings and thoughts I had when I volunteered as a kid started to resurface. But as soon as I arrived all that went away when I saw all of the attendees and volunteers. Seeing first hand all the people who support the program through donations, volunteering and resources and getting to talk to people who rely and enjoy on the services that Meals On Wheels provide made me understand that those who are on the receiving end of the services that Meals On Wheels provides don't feel patronized, they’re grateful for the help and they are getting more than just food dropped at the door. They get reassurance that people care and are there to help. When I reflect on those feelings I had when I was younger I can't help but feel ridiculous for ever thinking that we were going to help these people was something to feel guilty about.