Community
Pam Mason, MOWs site coordinator, checks out some of the Valentine’ s Day“ goodies” that were to be distributed to clients on Feb. 14.
Some of the contents of Meals on Wheels food packages lined up to be packed; on special days, such as Valentine’ s Day, clients may also receive gifts of sweet favors and cakes.
Church in Pleasant Hills. From there, Mason prepares all three meals using the oven, stove and six crockpots. And, she adheres to the diet restrictions of her clients:“ After a client signs up for our service I call him or her to go over any food restrictions. Of the 55 current clients we cook for, 16 follow a diabetic diet. Everyone else eats a regular meal plan, which is prepared using a low-sodium diet. The food is then packaged and delivered before midday.”
If there is one thing Mason has leaned over the years working for this program, it’ s how to stretch a dollar and work within her community.
“ Our program survives solely on donations from businesses, charitable organizations and residents in our area,” she explains.“ In 2016, we delivered close to 35,400 meals and we’ d like to continue that level of service this year and beyond. We utilize the Pittsburgh Food Bank for a lot of our canned goods and shelf-ready milk, and local grocery stores for some day-old bread or pastries. Trader Joe’ s in
Mt. Lebanon and Trax Farms are wonderful about donating fruits and vegetables, which allows me to offer a fresh salad every day to our clients. But we need donations— anything from canned and dry goods to monetary gifts— in order to keep our program alive and thriving. It’ s important for people to know their donations are tax deductible and no gift is too small.”
At the heart of the Pleasant Hills / South Park area MOWs are the clients. People who have done their part to serve their community, and sometimes their country, and need a helping hand in their later years are those who
Mason, the volunteers and the program feel blessed to serve.
“ It’ s absolutely the best part of what we do,” says Mason.“ The clients need our help, not just food. They need social interaction and to be looked after and that’ s what we offer. We don’ t just give them a meal; we give them comfort and support. And all they want is to be remembered. So we do that, too. We celebrate every holiday with a special treat, whether it’ s a Valentine’ s Day placemat or an American flag on the outside of their food delivery box that thanks our veterans / clients for their service. It makes all of us happy.”
To donate to the Pleasant Hills / South Park area MOWs, visit southparkmealsonwheels. com or find it on Facebook. n
Numerous volunteers deliver both hot and cold meals to clients each day. Driver / deliverer team Joe and Linda Pelan get ready for their daily run. Joe also volunteers once a week to bring edibles into MOWs from area food banks. Volunteers are always needed to prepare and deliver meals.
I’ ve ever done.”
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