On 40th Anniversary, Meals on Wheels Hits a Rut

About 80 seniors rely on the Mission Viejo Meals on Wheels program for their daily food.

But on March 17, weekend and holiday meals were canceled for the first time in at least 12 years, Age Well Assistant Site Manager Shelli Mire said. That's the same month Meals on Wheels turned 40.

The Anaheim Meals on Wheels office closed recently, and now for the first time there's a waiting list for seniors wanting to get into the program in Mission Viejo.

Donations have dropped off even as the number of seniors in the program has risen, Mire said.

In July 2009, Meals on Wheels served 55 seniors in Mission Viejo. Now the number is closer to 78, and only about one third of those donate back to the program. So weekends and holidays got the ax, Mire said.

That's especially hard on the 17 seniors who previously relied on weekend meal delivery for their food, Mire said. And because holidays are usually celebrated around the weekend, that can be a long time for some seniors to go without fresh food.

"On a long weekend... it's sad," volunteer Trish McCauley said. "Some of the routes just break your heart in lower-income neighborhoods."

McCauley thinks especially of one man in his 80s with no legs living in an apartment complex.

"He has a small dorm refrigerator, the kind you can't fit a quart of milk into," she said.

Mire knows the man. And she says volunteers will find ways to give him more when he needs it before a long weekend.

And she said the man with no legs uses a bus for doctor appointments and family helps cover weekend meals.

"He makes it work," she said. "He's going to be OK."

What the Seniors Think

Max Bauer, 86, started using Meals on Wheels three months ago at the insistence of one of his five children. But he thinks he'll quit, he said.

"I know there are so many people who don't own their own house," he said. "They have to pay rent, and they have no medicine or food. I don't have this problem."

Bauer lives on a fixed income of $854 per month. One month each year, property tax wipes out almost all of that, and he asks his children for a little help.

"There's not enough money, so they help me," he said. "But I need very little help."

Bauer once owned a delicatessen in Mission Viejo. He saved, paid for a home and bought the car he drives today new and in cash--a 1991 Honda.

He's a no-frills kind of guy who's proud he owes nothing to anyone.

"I can manage," he said. "I don't spend money. I don't buy Coca-Cola, and I don't buy things that are not necessary. When I'm thirsty, I drink water. I buy potatoes and rice."

Blanch Hagopian, 86, started taking Meals on Wheels in January when she got home from the hospital.

"I had a close call," she said. "Apparently I had an abscessed tooth and the infection got in my bloodstream, and the next stop was my heart."

She said Meals on Wheels has been a big part of her recovery.

"It means a lot," Hagopian said. "It's a real convenience. It cuts way down on preparing food. I was getting to the point that I wasn't cooking as much as I used to. Plus... the meals, as far as I can see, are low-fat and low salt, so it's a good diet program."

Although she has some troubles, Hagopian worries for young people--those who are upside-down on their mortgages. She's happy to have insurance and glad for the food given to her by volunteers.

"It's cafeteria food, but the other night we were having macaroni and cheese. I said to my husband, this is delicious," she said. "You don't usually label cafeteria food delicious, but it is."

Shoes to the Rescue

There's still one hope for the weekend and holiday Meals on Wheels program.

Volunteer Margot Ferron has a plan to put old shoes to good use. She hopes to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes, which she can turn into $4,000 to donate back to the Meals on Wheels program. She calls the program "Put a Little Sole in it."

The hardest part was finding someone to donate space to keep all those shoes, Ferron said. But has stepped up to the plate, agreeing to donate one storage unit to the cause.

Keep an eye on Patch for more information about how to donate.