Patch Editors Take to the Streets with Meals on Wheels

Traditionally, community journalists hit the street to get to the bottom of the story, but on Tuesday we were part of the story.

In honor of the 100th Patch site launch, we (Christine Sampson, editor of Three Village Patch and Lon Cohen, editor of the soon-to-be-launched Port Jefferson Patch) joined Three Village Meals on Wheels on Tuesday to deliver meals as part of Give 5, a Patch-wide community service program.

Meals on Wheels is a nonprofit organization that employs volunteers to deliver two meals a day to homebound seniors and other individuals who are unable to leave their homes or prepare meals for themselves. Organizers for Meals on Wheels split up clients for the most efficient delivery of meals, which allows volunteers to finish their routes within one to two hours, delivering one cold meal and one hot meal to each local resident in need.

Read on for our personal accounts of our experiences working with Three Village Meals on Wheels.

Lon Drives the Orange Route and Realizes a Little Goes a Long Way

I started my route at Mather Hospital outside of the commissary where four towers of portable hot meal trays and four coolers were stacked up and waiting to go on their merry way to our recipients. Routes were split up by color and I was driving the Orange route with Pat Tramposch, an old pro who had been working with Meals on Wheels for 30 years. As soon as we packed my minivan with our seven meal trays and one cooler, Pat and I hopped in and she began to describe all of the people we'd be visiting that day. It was obvious that she'd gotten to know the people she served meals to very well. One particular young man she called her "sweet heart." I drove and Pat navigated us through Port Jefferson Station as we delivered our packages.

Pat told me that the more you do the deliveries, the more attached you become to each and every person on your route (she even said she checked in on one or two after they didn't need the service anymore) and even after only one day I felt I knew what she meant. I found that I was immediately thrust into the personal lives of the people we served, going into their homes, saying hello and chatting briefly, putting the hot meals out on the kitchen table for them or placing the milk, sandwich and dessert into the fridge to keep cold until later. It was a quick route and before I knew it Pat and I had finished up and we were heading back to Mather to drop off the empty trays and coolers.

For such a little effort it was very obvious that I'd done a lot of good with a small amount of my time. As we said goodbye, I promised Pat that I'd be back on another Tuesday to run the Orange Route again.

Christine Rides Along, Gets Education in Volunteerism

I accompanied volunteers Diane Melidosian and Rita Scher on the "purple" route, which is based out of St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson. Both are retired teachers who began with Three Village Meals on Wheels several years ago as substitute delivery volunteers during the summer; Diane recently got a permanent once-a-week route of her own.

We picked up the food from St. Charles around 10:45 a.m., where we enjoyed some friendly conversation with five other Meals on Wheels volunteers waiting to pick up their food, too. Tuesday's hot meal consisted of meatballs and orzo with mixed vegetables and a side of fruit; the cold meal was a sandwich and milk. Everywhere we went on our route, our front-door knocks and shouts of "Hello! Meals!" were greeted with enthusiasm.

"These people are very appreciative and engaging," Diane said of the clients to whom she delivers meals. "It works both ways. They get excited to see us, and we get excited to see them."

Rita believes volunteering is meaningful to a community in the same way shopping locally and supporting local merchants is meaningful.

"I've been in this community a long time," she said. "Everyone should contribute."

Meals on Wheels routes consist of up to eight stops. We were finished with our deliveries in about an hour. After working with Diane and Rita, I realized how quick, easy, and fulfilling it can be to make this type of contribution – and later that day, I filled out my own application to join Meals on Wheels as a volunteer.