By: Korie Marshall
Like many organizations in the Robson Valley, Meals on Wheels in Valemount is looking for a few more volunteers to help cook and deliver meals. But it is also looking for more customers.
Marion Farquharson has recently taken over administration of the Senior Housing from Bobbie Roe, so she is now also involved with the Meals on Wheels program. The program delivers home-cooked meals, three days a week, for anyone who might need a little help getting a meal together – seniors, people who are ill or recovering from surgery, new moms. Farquharson says they won’t turn anyone down, and you get a home-cooked soup, salad, main and desert – often enough for two meals – delivered right to your door. The price is $6 per meal, though it will likely go up soon. She says they can keep costs down more if they have more customers.
Meals on Wheels programs started in the United Kingdom during the Second World War, when many people lost their homes and therefore their ability to cook. The Women’s Volunteer Service started providing meals for many of these people, as well as delivering meals to servicemen. Programs have started all over the world, often generically referred to as “Meals on Wheels,” to help those house-bound or unable to cook for themselves. Many programs also recognize it is a way to keep people, both the customers and the volunteers, involved in the community.
Farquharson says meals are cooked in the Golden Years Senior’s Lodge kitchen, and the group is looking for people who can help cook sometimes, or be on a list to deliver a few meals once in a while.
Too tired, or don’t feel like cooking? Farquharson says a day or two’s notice is enough, just call 250-566-4867 and leave a message to let them know when and where you’d like a meal. They are delivered hot on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, just before noon.
