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Meals on Wheels driver Josh Dean stands outside his truck with a bagged meal and clip board.
Josh Dean drops off meals for seniors. He’s been a Meals on Wheels driver for about three years.

Meals on Wheels is about more than just the food for Athens County seniors

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NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WOUB News) — Josh Dean has delivered hot and frozen meals to Sandra Bullock for a few years now. 

“When you deliver to the same person three times a week for years, you become attached. It becomes personal to you,” Dean said. 

Bullock is 70 years old and uses a wheelchair to get around. She can’t reach the stove to cook meals. That’s why she’s enrolled in the Meals on Wheels program through HAPCAP, a community action program.

She’s grateful for the food and the company. 

“Sometimes they come in, they’ll just talk to you and that’s what you need,” Bullock said. “For someone to be hungry — outrageous, not good.”

The frozen meals are kept in the Southeast Ohio Food Bank freezer. Packaged food sits under Monday and Tuesday signs in the freezer.
Seniors get a hot and frozen meal each delivery. [Alison Patton | WOUB]
The Meals on Wheels program delivers two to three hot and frozen meals a week to seniors in need. 

“The way that meal delivery works really depends on each individual senior and what works best for them,” HACAP Public Relations Coordinator Valerie Addis said. 

The program is geared toward seniors who can’t leave the house to get groceries, Addis said. But it’s not just about the food. 

“We do hear from a lot of seniors that the Meals on Wheels driver might be the only person that they see in a day and several days in a week,” Addis said. 

Jack Sowers sits in his living room with a football hat on.
Meals on Wheels senior Jack Sowers sent WOUB a letter to the editor about Issue 21. [Alison Patton | WOUB]
Seniors like Jack Sowers, who wrote WOUB a letter to the editor. 

“It’s also about knowing that someone will check in on you, that you’re not alone,” Sowers wrote. “For many of us, the driver who brings those meals is the only person we might see that day.”

Sowers lives alone with his cat Kitty Girl in Nelsonville. He gets help from his neighbors and his Meals on Wheels driver. 

He said his driver is unselfish, and she is always willing to help out. 

“Now, Issue 21 is our chance to continue helping our fellow seniors,” Sowers wrote. 

The senior services renewal levy on the ballot will continue funding the Meals on Wheels program for another five years.

If passed, homeowners would continue to pay about $6 per $100,000 of appraised home value, according to Addis. 

Miranda Fullerton, a senior nutrition specialist at the Southeast Ohio Food Bank, said a continuation of the program through the levy along with additional funding would allow the program to add another route and serve more seniors. 

“Essentially we can’t serve more people until we are certain that we can continue to serve those already in the program,” Fullerton wrote in an email. 

Meals on Wheels serves about 200 seniors, and there’s about 90 people on the waitlist.