For the first time since the pandemic began, elected officials from around Simcoe County delivered meals for the Meals on Wheels program on Friday.
Local politicians from Orillia, Severn, Oro-Medonte and Ramara gathered with Helping Hands workers at Tammies Place for the 20th annual March for Meals campaign. They then spent their afternoon delivering meals to seniors in need.
“Many of the folks who represent their communities have been out here numerous times, but it gives them an understanding of how we’re servicing people in their area who need the support,” said Joe Fecht, chair of the Helping Hands board.
The annual campaign, which aims to spread awareness and garner support for the program, has highlighted a need for more volunteers now that pandemic restrictions are easing.
“The big issue, as we’ve gone through the pandemic, is the need for Meals on Wheels,” Fecht said. “We used to have volunteers, and when the pandemic hit, we had to lay off our volunteers.”
“We have about seven drivers who are paid, and they’re the ones who have been delivering the meals … (but) if anybody wishes to spend a couple of hours a week volunteering, they could do this job,” he said.
Severn Mayor Mike Burkett, who has participated in March for Meals since 2011, said he was happy to get involved with the program again now that restrictions have eased.
“I’m just grateful that they’ve invited me again to do it,” Burkett said. “It brings it back home that there is a need for this in our community.”
Burkett pointed out that a number of seniors are just as happy to get the chance to socialize a bit as they are to receive meals.
“What I saw is how lonely some of our senior people are, so they look forward to the Meals on Wheels, people that show up just for that few minutes to hand them that food,” he said.
Fecht said the pandemic isolated many seniors even further and that a number of Helping Hands programs were put on hold.
“With COVID, they have been very much behind closed doors, so this is one of the ways of just having some brief interaction, a few words,” he said.
While transportation services were limited to medical appointments through the pandemic, Fecht said Helping Hands will be increasing its levels of service again.
“We also do transportation for seniors to medical appointments, if they need to go shopping … so we need to get more volunteers back as we’re ramping up our services,” he said.
The Meals on Wheels program delivered 3.6 million meals to more than 50,000 individuals through 2020-21, 86 per cent of whom were over 65 years of age.
