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Meals on Wheels delivers Thanksgiving meals to seniors in need
Hundreds of volunteers got meals ready to deliver to homebound seniors for Thanksgiving.
DALLAS - Hundreds of volunteers got meals ready and delivered them for homebound seniors on Thanksgiving.
Due to the stormy weather, they had to make some adjustments to the very well-organized system they have in place to get the holiday meals delivered.
The volunteer delivery drivers pulled up in front of the Haggerty Kitchen, and they each received a red cooler and a blue one.
Then they headed out to deliver the meals inside those coolers all over Dallas County.
This year marks the 49th year the Visiting Nurse Association has run Meals on Wheels in Dallas County.
Inside the kitchen Thursday morning, they had the assembly line going.
The menu included turkey and all the trimmings, as the meals were prepared for about 4,500 homebound seniors and disabled adults.
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On this day, especially, the volunteers know the delicious food they are providing is only part of what they bring to each person’s front door.
"We deliver so much more than a hot meal which is important. We deliver that social nutrition, a friendly face, and especially today, someone to be with someone who may not have anybody else to visit with them on Thanksgiving Day," said Jennifer Austin, with the Visiting Nurse Association.
"It always feels good to be helping people out here and the idea of not having Thanksgiving, that's just, that'd be so rough, and so the idea to give people that is just great," volunteer Jacob Ovenshire said.
"It's positive. I mean, just thinking of the outcome," volunteer Carson Mastrogiovanni said. "It's a positive atmosphere and I really enjoy it."
Mastrogiovanni was one of about three dozen Dallas Jesuit College Prep students that helped get all the food into the coolers.
There are hundreds of families who make volunteering as Thanksgiving delivery drivers an annual tradition.
And it’s an excellent way to remember what this holiday is all about.
Each of the individuals or families making the deliveries will make about 12 stops.
And at everyone one of them, they’ll be greeted with much gratitude and warm smiles.