I may not go back to delivering meals-on-wheels

[debodun]

I received an email from the meal program director saying they might resume MOW deliveries in August. There is a catch, there's a weeks worth of meals to be delivered on one day a week. I don't know if all that food would fit in my little Civic. Added to the fact that the meals will not be picked up at the local senior center as they were previously, but the driver would have to get them from a restaurant 21 miles away. That would be 42 extra miles for a round trip. I think they're asking a lot from volunteers.

 

[Kaila]

I had wondered about it, and if you would or not.
It's a decision that is up to you, Deb.

I am surprised they don't have a different specified person, to bring the meals from the restaurant to a closeby and local pick-up spot. That is also a lot of meals, for you to carry in to someone, and it seems like you would have to bring all of them, all the way, in to their kitchen, and perhaps put them away for them, too.

Different from what you had volunteered to do in the past. Seems to me it would add extra time and expenses, and different risks, sadly.

 

[Pepper]

I commend you for being a MOW delivery person deb. I think you did a wonderful, loving thing. If you can't do it anymore, you can't. At least you DID, and in doing so, helped many people.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I was on MOW for a while. I'm not sure what the criterior was for charging, but it cost me $360/month for 2 meals a day, five days a week. I don't know if the drivers were paid. But since I live in the sticks, where everybody is half an hour away, by car, those drivers were racking up the miles. I have to really thank those wonderful drivers. They not only delivered meals, they kept an eye out for you- your medical condition, etc. Thank you, with all my heart.

 

[debodun]

We don't get a cent, even for gas.

 

[MarciKS]

I received an email from the meal program director saying they might resume MOW deliveries in August. There is a catch, there's a weeks worth of meals to be delivered on one day a week. I don't know if all that food would fit in my little Civic. Added to the fact that the meals will not be picked up at the local senior center as they were previously, but the driver would have to get them from a restaurant 21 miles away. That would be 42 extra miles for a round trip. I think they're asking a lot from volunteers.

I agree.

 

[MarciKS]

I was on MOW for a while. I'm not sure what the criterior was for charging, but it cost me $360/month for 2 meals a day, five days a week. I don't know if the drivers were paid. But since I live in the sticks, where everybody is half an hour away, by car, those drivers were racking up the miles. I have to really thank those wonderful drivers. They not only delivered meals, they kept an eye out for you- your medical condition, etc. Thank you, with all my heart.

they don't pay drivers here. It's our time and our money.

 

[Keesha]

So the company relies on ripping off the drivers for extra cheap service ? Wow!

 

[Sliverfox]

Don't blame any MOW drivers for quitting.
Wouldn't want the job of carrying that much food around in July, August weather.
Too many chances that something might spoil.

 

[Kaila]

I did wonder if MOW provides coolers of some sort for the drivers to use.
Which again, take up additional vehicle space and are bulky to handle. One does need to be able to consider first, and to do, all that is required, if one volunteers for anything.

If it's one week of meals, then they would need to be frozen or refrigerated ones.

I do want to thank Deb, regardless of whatever your next decision is, for all of the time and effort, you put in, to doing this in the past!

 

[jerry old]

Different rules depening on where you live.
( I can only speak for my part of the world)

If you live in the city, they deliver daily (The pleague has altered their delivery to once
a week. Meals are delivered in a cardboard box.)

The people that deliver in the city are not paid. A large part of the delivery was to check on old folks, had they fallen, too ill to get to door, dead....

They interview 'old folks' prior to delivery, obtain phone #'s of relatives, if any,
friends, if any.
'Living old', 'others' die out. There are no relatives, friends.
Those that are handicapped are in trouble if they fall, or become severely ill...

Those in the rural receive meals ever two weeks-drivers are paid employees. They deliver dozens of boxes per day- it is not a part-time job. They have trucks are vans with refrigeration areas.
The service cost big bucks; concerned they may run out of funding.

It is a treat to see a living person every two week. My delivery man has to shake
me off, 'I've got a lot of delivers today.'

 

[Butterfly]

I received an email from the meal program director saying they might resume MOW deliveries in August. There is a catch, there's a weeks worth of meals to be delivered on one day a week. I don't know if all that food would fit in my little Civic. Added to the fact that the meals will not be picked up at the local senior center as they were previously, but the driver would have to get them from a restaurant 21 miles away. That would be 42 extra miles for a round trip. I think they're asking a lot from volunteers.

Under those conditions, I don't think I would go back; IMHO, it is, indeed, a lot to ask of volunteers.

 

[Keesha]

Under those conditions, I don't think I would go back; IMHO, it is, indeed, a lot to ask of volunteers.

I agree. If volunteers have to pay for gas and car maintenance then it’s no longer volunteer work. People are paying to help others out. It sort of deflates the volunteer aspect in my opinion.

 

[MarciKS]

So the company relies on ripping off the drivers for extra cheap service ? Wow!

it's volunteer work. you don't get paid. they don't pay for gas and you use your own vehicle.

 

[MarciKS]

I was on MOW for a while. I'm not sure what the criterior was for charging, but it cost me $360/month for 2 meals a day, five days a week. I don't know if the drivers were paid. But since I live in the sticks, where everybody is half an hour away, by car, those drivers were racking up the miles. I have to really thank those wonderful drivers. They not only delivered meals, they kept an eye out for you- your medical condition, etc. Thank you, with all my heart.

that's like paying rent on an apt. that's ridiculous.

 

[Keesha]

it's volunteer work. you don't get paid. they don't pay for gas and you use your own vehicle.

Yes I understand that part. To my knowledge volunteers don’t have to PAY to volunteer. These volunteers ARE expected to.

 

[MarciKS]

yes. you pay for your gas and car upkeep in order to bring food to people who need it.

 

[MarciKS]

the benefit i got was how grateful they were to receive these meals they couldn't go out to get themselves. to me that was pay enough.

 

[Keesha]

Then again I volunteer by playing saxophone at nursing homes and I pay for my gas and everything else that goes along with it. Seeing and hearing how happy & appreciative they are is reward enough

 

[Butterfly]

Deb, is a week of meals 7 dinners, or is it three meals a day? Are they frozen? I'm not convinced it would be safe to eat a meal that has been sitting around in a fridge for 6 or 7 days.

 

[debodun]

I've been told that all the meals will be frozen as long as the weekly schedule is in effect. Some clients get the "single" which is just one meal and some get the "double" which is supposed to be for 2 meals a day. Depending on the client list, that could be up to 24 meals I'd have to carry are once plus the containers of milk and the desserts. One client told me that she was informed that unfrozen meals are good for a week and the frozen are good for 6 weeks.

The weekly delivery is a change due to take effect in August. Right now they are delivering two weeks of meals every other week using PAID county employees, not the regular volunteers.

Maybe a photo of the typical meals can help you visualize it:

 

[Kaila]

It might not matter, if you've decided not to resume, anyway, with the new rules and changes, Deb,
but I had a random thought, that they might also require drivers to have a phone in their car, at some point, also,
which I don't know if you had solved that issue in the past or not.

I would think that some of the people receiving the meals, might want the driver to call them, when arriving, to either have them leave the food at the door, or something else to social distance, due to the epidemic fears.
Just a thought I had.

 

[MarciKS]

They could always set it up where they could knock and step off the porch and wait at a safe distance for them to grab their food and then leave. That's what the pizza places do.

 

[debodun]

They may go back to the former method at some point in the future. I informed the director I'd be willing to resume delivery when it does. The ball is in their court now. At least I don't have to give three weeks notice - the advantage of being a volunteer.

Many drivers quit last year when the local pick-up place was closed for repairs for 2 months and we had to go an extra 8 miles over and back twice to get the food where it was prepared at another senior center. The new locale is 3 times that far away. Now there are only 4 regular drivers to cover the route I work.

 

[Butterfly]

It seems to me that it stupid of the MOW people don't send a truck to pick up all the meals and bring them back to MOW and have the drivers pick them up there, rather than expecting each driver to drive the 42 mile round trip.