Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver extra food ahead of winter storm
DALLAS - Volunteers are doing their best to help some of North Texas’ most vulnerable people prepare for the winter storm.
Dallas County Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels in Dallas County is a service provided by the Visiting Nurses Association.
Currently, the organization serves about 5,200 homebound seniors and disabled adults throughout the county each weekday. That’s in addition to those in hospice care.
It takes about 300 volunteers and staff members to deliver those meals each day.
The VNA didn’t want to risk having those folks on the roads on Thursday and Friday, so they prepared additional meals and delivered those with heaters as needed on Wednesday.
"What we’re doing today is preparing that hot meal they were supposed to receive. In addition, every client is going to get a breakfast bag. In the fall, we try to prepare for the holiday season and for inclement weather so all of our clients receive a five-pack of our meals that are shelf stable so they will have those to eat on Thursday and Friday," said Jennifer Austin, the VNA’s managing director of Development and Communications.
While they won’t be delivering food, Dallas County’s volunteers will still call their clients to check on them.
Staff will also be working remotely so if there are any emergencies, those can be addressed promptly.
What People Are Saying: Andrew Astmann is one of the volunteers in Dallas County.
"You develop a rapport with a handful of your clients," he said. "It’s a good service that a lot of people need."
People like Maria Gonzalez and Richard Henry said they’re grateful for the food and human interaction.
"When you’re old, people tend to forget about you. So knowing that there’s people out there who truly care who volunteer their time, it’s important."
Dig Deeper: It’s a big operation and the VNA is always in need of volunteers to help out on the routes. If you’d like to help or learn more, visit volunteer.vnatexas.org.
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Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County
In Tarrant County, hundreds of volunteers delivered extra shelf-stable meals to clients on Wednesday just in case they aren’t able to make deliveries on Thursday and Friday.
The organization shared photos of two very appreciative senior citizens on its Facebook page.
Meals on Wheels Collin County
Collin County’s Meals on Wheels service will be temporarily suspended on Thursday and Friday because of the risk of snow and ice.
Volunteers there delivered emergency shelf-stable meals and power outage kits to seniors in preparation for the storm.
The kits include items like flashlights, power banks, and batteries to make sure everyone stays safe.
"We prioritize the safety of our seniors and volunteers, and halting meal deliveries during dangerous weather conditions allows us to focus on proactive support," said CEO Marzella Tyson. "Thank you to our community of supporters who have helped equip our senior neighbors with meals and emergency resources ahead of this bad weather."
How You Can Help: The organization is also looking for extra volunteers on Saturday at 9 a.m. to help deliver extra winter weather resources to seniors.
"We want to remind our community to stay safe, stay informed, and reach out to us if you know or see a senior in need," Tyson said.
For more information or to help, visit mealsonwheelscc.org.
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Meals on Wheels Denton County
Although the Denton County organization didn’t provide details about its efforts ahead of this week’s winter storm, its website states that meals are not delivered in icy weather or on major holidays.