Deb Ruth, the Seniors on Center Nutrition Site Manager, says they’re always short of volunteers to take meals to the seniors in their homes. Seniors on Center got a call recently from the Knox County Senior Center, Station Break, that they had a used meals delivery truck available that was in fairly good shape.
Ruth went to Mount Vernon to see the truck with Seniors on Center Director Pam Eastep. They realized that they could use it for meal delivery since they are sometimes short of volunteers.
The same day they saw the truck they returned to Mount Gilead and there was a check in the mail for $5,000 from the Leclerc Foundation Charity Fund. That was the amount for the truck plus just enough for the license, logo on the doors and a few needed repairs.
The letter from the Leclerc Fund stated, “Please apply these funds to the Meals on Wheels fund.”
Eastep said the Leclerc Foundation has a person who has family from Morrow County and the foundation has given donations to Seniors on Center in past years.
Ruth said the Meals on Wheels program in Morrow County delivers between 100 and 75 meals per day. The new truck can carry 20 meals. Most of those are taken to seniors in the outlaying, rural areas in the county. The driver, Jessica Scott said it takes about two hours for deliveries with the truck.
There is a compartment for hot and cold foods in the truck. It’s the hope of Seniors on Center that they can eventually get a second truck. Then they will be able to have four volunteer drivers instead of the eight or nine they presently need.
“It was as though it was meant to be for us to get that truck,” said Eastep.
