A Word about Meals on Wheels
By Albert B. Kelly
It’s one of those programs we’ve all heard of but spend little time thinking about, certainly not how it operates or its challenges or the metrics by which it measures success. I’m speaking of Wheels on Meals. I hadn’t given the program much thought until a few residents mentioned that they thought the program was not as active as it could be amongst certain segments of the community so I thought it important to highlight what the program does and does not do.
If you are not familiar with the Meals-on Wheels program, it’s basically a program that seeks to meet the nutrition needs of seniors, the majority of whom are low-moderate income residents that live alone, are house-bound, and have no other means of ensuring regular nutritious meals.
The program as we commonly think of it today started in the mid-1950s in Philadelphia. Back then with the aid of some grant funding, the program was launched by a social worker at a local community center working to get food to local house-bound seniors who would have otherwise gone hungry. Today this program, in varying forms, exists in most counties across the country.
Locally, we have the Cumberland County Meals-on Wheels
program administered by dedicated people from the Cumberland County Office on
Aging including volunteers. I imagine that it is not an easy job to administer
the program because the needs are great and the resources limited.
To qualify locally, a person must be 60 years of age or older, be house-bound and not have a way to procure a meal on their own, meaning that they do not live with anyone who can assist with food preparation. While the program does not have income as a criterion, for obvious reasons the program tries to focus its resources on low income seniors.
It is critical to know that if a senior is able to drive or take the local CATS bus, they would not be considered house-bound, but would be directed to take part in one of the lunch programs at a centralized location. The pandemic threw things into some chaos but as far as Bridgeton; we are actively working to make ready the community room in the Hall of Fame building in City Park to host the senior lunch program once again. This matters because one of the other goals is to provide an atmosphere where seniors can socialize and be connected to others which in this time of isolation is extremely important.
Those interested in the program for themselves or perhaps for a family member should also know that if a senior participates in the Medicaid Waiver Program for Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), they would not be eligible for Meals on Wheels as they would receive meals from their Medicaid Provider.
I mention these criteria because some might assume that they qualify without fully understanding the eligibility guidelines. That said, if there is one area where things could get murky, it might be when making a judgement call about whether or not a senior has someone to assist with food preparation. I say that because there’s often a big difference between the situation that actually exists under a given roof and the expectations about the way it should exist.
Should a senior citizen have an adult child, grandchild, niece, or nephew living under the same roof with them on some type of regular basis, you would assume they would help with food prep. But it doesn’t always happen and it’s worth asking what happens if that other person living under the same roof as the senior doesn’t step up to the plate, does the presence of that person mean the senior is automatically ineligible?
The other thing that is true these days is that households come in all sorts of shapes and sizes trying to survive and we have to take them as we find them, which sometimes includes those barely able to manage their own affairs let alone assist with food preparation for someone else. My point is that each situation is unique and if it comes down to a judgement call, the tie should go to the runner as they say in baseball.
Finally, this vital program can always use donations and volunteers. In this holiday season if you are able and willing to help, either with your time or money, please contact the Office on Aging and Disability Services at (856) 453-2220.