DELIVERING A LOT MORE THAN FOOD

A warm meal and a hello might not necessarily seem like a lot but for the people who depend on those services they can be lifechanging in allowing people to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible.

Meals on Wheels is one of the services provided along with the Happy In My Home set of programs offered by Community Support Services of Niagara (CSSN). Those services are offered in the Grimsby, Lincoln and West Lincoln areas.

Tabitha Reece, a service co-ordinator for Meals on Wheels, said they currently serve around 175 clients in Grimsby, Lincoln and West Lincoln.

Currently, the group has 25 volunteers. The group works to offer supports for older adults,

and adults with disabilities to help people remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible

Carolyn Askeland, executive director of CSSN, said the program has an impact beyond just the meals provided, noting they also provide security and reassurance.

Each week while delivering the meals, the volunteers speak with the client to check in with them.

"Volunteers like Bonnie (Jackson-Diprose), they're able to check to make sure that individual is doing well that day — that there hasn't been a fall or a medical incident that may warrant an escalation to 911," said Askeland. "It's community taking care of community and helping to support older adults to live in their home for as long as they can."

"The joy that brings to them, when they see their volunteer coming to deliver their meal, that chat at the door for a few moments, that may be the only human being that person is going to see that day or that week," said Askeland.

Bonnie Jackson-Diprose has volunteered for seven years.

Jackson-Diprose said she enjoys meeting the clients and has seen how appreciative they are.

"They're all just so nice and friendly and happy. And they are happy to see us," she said, adding most are "very happy to meet us at the door and share a few words."

"I always make a point of spending a couple of minutes with everyone," noted Jackson-Diprose.

Askeland added that "our volunteers also get something from the group as well.

"By going out and seeing members of their community and knowing that the time that they've spent delivering that route and saying hello is having a positive impact on their fellow community members," she said.

"I think the other biggest impact is on isolation and loneliness," said Askeland. "Having a meaningful conversation makes a difference."

Registered dietician Leah Mete says that programs like Meals on Wheels that help ensure people have enough to eat regularly throughout the day are crucial in helping to prevent some accidents.

"The good thing about eating more regularly is it actually really helps with energy levels and especially

as you're thinking about aging, potentially like falls and things like that start to become an issue," explained

Mete.

"(Eating regularly) will provide you with the energy that it will decrease the risk of those types of things."

She added that any program that provides different styles of meals with a multitude of proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates is an added bonus.

Sandra Easton, mayor of the Town of Lincoln, said she had delivered meals when given the opportunity.

She called the experience "very positive and very rewarding."

"Not only is supporting people in need of a meal important, but also the added benefit of having someone come in and chat, even briefly, makes a big difference to those in need," noted Easton.

"I have found that as we age some lose our ability to do many of the everyday things that many of us take for granted, like cooking our own meals."

Easton added Meals on Wheels provides an "important service" throughout Niagara and in Lincoln.

For more information about the Happy In My Home Program, visit www.happyinmyhome.ca.

With files from Brilee Sears

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: After hearing local organizations plan to celebrate Meals on Wheels community champions week, which is part of its March for Meals campaign, reporter Nick Fearns learned more about the program offered in west Niagara.