NIAGARA network
MEALS ON WHEELS ERIE
Pat T. and Chris D. are a sister team who
started delivering meals with Meals on
Wheels Erie on Route 6A every Wednesday
over six years ago. They also run a homeless
shelter during the winter, and spend the
night there and deliver meals in the morning.
According to Terry Pytlarz, the director
of Meals on Wheels Erie, a common theme
amongst their volunteers as to why they
deliver meals can be summed up by Anita
K. who says, “I wanted to give back to the
community and I love people! I didn’t realize
how much it would do for my spirit and my
soul. It’s a blessing!”
Serving around 90,000 meals a year and
shopping over 500 times annually takes a lot
of volunteerism. With the help of volunteers,
Meals on Wheels Erie is able to deliver food
to over 280 clients every weekday through
the Meals On Wheels Program, and shop
for over 50 clients through the Grocery
Shopping and Delivery Program.
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“Over 200 caring volunteers help the
homebound elderly and disabled,” says
Pytlarz. “And we are so grateful for their
generosity of time.” The majority of meals
are picked up for delivery each weekday at 10
am from kitchens at GECAC and LECOM
Senior Living Center. Additionally, through
the Grocery Shopping Program, volunteers
shop for groceries at five Erie Giant Eagles
and the Sander’s Markets located in North
East and Corry.
Pytlarz says that while the meals are critical
for nutrition, and keeping a healthy body and
staying out of the hospital, he feels strongly
that the visits, short as they are sometimes,
can be just as important. Jim H., a volunteer
with Meals on Wheels agrees, saying, “They
love the meals and the human contact.”
Harry G., a Meals on Wheels volunteer
for 23 years also says that he enjoys the
interaction with his clients. Although she is
not on his route, his mother, a former Meals
On Wheels Erie Board Member, is now a