Meals on Wheels marks
25 years with expansion

Hawaii Meals on Wheels Inc. is celebrating its 25th year of providing hot, nutritious food to homebound elderly and disabled residents with a hard look at growing needs for its services.

The organization's volunteers deliver more than 200 meals each day on 30 routes from Kalihi to Hawaii Kai, Aiea to Pearl City and Kaneohe to Kailua.

New routes will be added soon to serve Ewa/Kapolei homebound residents, said Judy Kern, program coordinator.

The organization recently received $4,091 from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc. to help support the program.

Kern cited "huge growth" in requests for meal delivery with growth of the island's aging population but indicated that expansion is weighed against the "very personalized" nature of the program. "We know all the people we serve and all the volunteers."

More than 92 percent of clients are 60 or older, she said. Of those, half are in the 80- to 89-year-old range, and more than 17 percent are 90 and older. "We get a call from a child who is like 70 or something" asking for the service, Kern said.

The food is prepared at eight facilities at a cost of $4.80 per meal to Hawaii Meals on Wheels, she said. Clients are asked for a voluntary contribution.

The program always needs volunteers to deliver meals and make human contact with homebound residents. But, Kern said, "We're so fortunate that the community does step up."

Volunteers must have a current driver's license, insurance and safety sticker and they receive training. They use their own vehicles, "so there is double giving," Kern said. "With the high gas prices, it is quite a contribution."

People interested in receiving meals or volunteering to deliver them should call Hawaii Meals on Wheels at 988-6747.