116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Johnson County Meals on Wheels temporarily reducing deliveries due to volunteer shortage
Deliveries will be made three times a week instead of five until more volunteers are recruited
IOWA CITY — Johnson County Meals on Wheels is temporarily reducing the number of delivery days starting next week due to a volunteer shortage.
Melissa Wahl, director of community health and nutrition for Horizons, told The Gazette “the decision was not made lightly.”
“We never want to reduce delivery days, but a couple of weeks ago, I think it was actually last week, we had 17 open routes,” Wahl said. “When you start a week with 17 routes not filled, it's really, really hard to get the meals to the seniors.”
As of Monday, deliveries will be made three times a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday — instead of five. Johnson County residents will receive one hot and one frozen meal on Mondays and Wednesdays, and one hot meal on Fridays. The intent is for the frozen meal to be reheated the following day.
The measures will remain in place for 60 days as Horizons works to increase its volunteer base, the organization said in a news release. Cedar Rapids-based Horizons administers the program.
In some instances, Horizons has had to send staff members to help deliver meals. Wahl was helping deliver meals on Thursday.
Here’s how to volunteer with Johnson County Meals on Wheels
Melissa Wahl, director of community health and nutrition for Horizons, encouraged anyone interested in volunteering to sign up online at horizonsfamily.org/volunteer.
“We're super open to any variation of what somebody can do or fit into their schedule to be able to help us,” Wahl said.
Anyone with questions or who would like to do a ride along before signing up is encouraged to reach out.
Wahl also encouraged businesses or agencies in the area offering volunteer time off to sign up, saying it’s a great partnership. Businesses who have done this in the past have sent a group of employees to deliver meals on a rotating basis.
“It's a great partnership for us with this agency to not only deliver the meals but create a partnership and a relationship that actually usually only brings more good out of it,” Wahl said.
By reducing delivery days, three days of routes will need to be filled instead of five, “which would put us in a much better place each week versus scrambling,” Wahl said.
Meals on Wheels has 90 registered volunteers, Wahl said. Some individuals volunteer regularly every week while others might volunteer once a month or every other week.
There are 11 daily routes in Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty delivered between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“If we were able to even get 10 new volunteers, it would make a world of difference in being able to go back to five days a week delivery,” Wahl said.
Horizons’ Meals on Wheels program delivers hot and frozen meals to thousands of community members who are elderly or disabled and mostly unable to leave their homes unassisted. Many rely on these meals not only because it’s difficult to do their own shopping, but also because their finances have gotten tighter as inflation worsened.
In the last few years, the number of people who rely on Meals on Wheels services has increased dramatically, The Gazette previously reported.
“Clients are seeing higher costs, so they're reaching out to find out what resources are available to them, and we're seeing higher costs,” Wahl said. “In order to be able to continue to take on the amount of clients that we do, it really comes down to funding or donation or even volunteers being able to help us.”
The organization is participating in volunteer fairs, talking with Johnson County agencies, doing media interviews and trying other methods to build awareness about the program, Wahl said.
And while the main task of volunteers is to deliver meals, they are also conducting a wellness check and socializing with the residents. Wahl said the Meals on Wheels program helps make connections for seniors so they can continue to age in place.
“It's very fulfilling,” Wahl said. “It's giving back to your community and to the people that live in your community.”
Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com
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