Photo courtesy of Meals on Wheels of Fairfield County
Most people tend to associate Meals on Wheels with home delivery, but in and around Pickerington, individuals in need of the organization’s services also have options for dining out – sort of.
In recent years, Meals on Wheels of Fairfield County has started a new program: partnering with local restaurants to help expand the range of services it offers and give those who receive Meals on Wheels a few more choices.
When the local chapter – which makes home deliveries Monday through Friday each week – started this new endeavor two years ago, it was a way to increase its presence in Pickerington and surrounding areas.
“We were looking for a site in Pickerington because we used to have a site in Grand Haven, but that dwindled,” says Amber Locke, fiscal manager for Meals on Wheels of Fairfield County.
The organization talked to its state sponsor, which suggested partnering with local
Photo courtesy of Meals on Wheels of Fairfield County
restaurants.
“It’s just gotten people out more. It’s gotten them a place where they can socialize,” says Locke. “The people who get home deliveries have to be homebound in so many different ways, but for those people who can get out and do things, this gives them a place to go to where they can get a meal.”
The organization’s Pickerington partner is Olde Village Diner. It also works with Ma-Maw’s Diner in Baltimore.
Ma-Maw’s has been working with Meals on Wheels for 14 months now, but Cena Grimm, owner of Ma-Maw’s, has been looking into a partnership with the organization for much longer.
“I had actually inquired probably four or five years ago,” says Grimm, “and at the time, they weren’t making that program any larger.”
The opportunity soon arose, though.
“Behind my diner is a retirement home … and I think they were doing the Meals on Wheels in the kitchen area in the unit behind me,” says Grimm. “They closed that down, and one of my customers is actually the chairman, and he asked me if I would still be interested, and I said definitely, yes. I thought it was something that was needed in the Baltimore community.”
Grimm and her staff devote a large amount of their time to working with those Baltimore residents who receive food from Meals on Wheels, visiting homes every Monday through Friday afternoon from 11 to 2.
“I’ve got a two-week meal plan, and I put the calendars out and they come in,” she says. “We know the people who are on Meals on Wheels, and we just go in and give them a friendly face and someone to visit them every day.”
Grimm emphasizes that she and her staff provide not just food, but company and comfort as well.
The food that recipients of Meals on Wheels get from Ma-Maw’s is the same thing they would get if they were to go to the restaurant and purchase a meal, usually the lunch special, with an alternative option provided as well.
“They can get a chef salad if they don’t like what we’re serving today,” says Grimm.
Grimm sees her work with Meals on Wheels as a way to give back to her community.
“I lost my mom eight years ago, and it was her diner,” says Grimm, “It’s just a really good way to give back to the community. Life is short … and I just think you should pay more forward.”
For more information on Meals on Wheels of Fairfield County, including qualification criteria and volunteering opportunities, visit www.mowfc.org.
Athnie McMillan-Comeaux is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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