Volunteers Ensure Meals Reach Those in Need After Storms

4 weeks ago 0

Since August 11, Pam Edwards has been volunteering at Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana, creating a bond with John Ruiz, a lively client on her Friday route in Merrillville. After storms hit on August 11, Edwards learned he was safe. When they met again on August 21, Ruiz told her he had regained power just a day earlier. During the outage, his brother-in-law checked on him, and he relied on fast food during Meals on Wheels’ temporary halt.

Edwards finds comfort knowing Ruiz has support. Another volunteer, Vega Blossom, encountered challenges when she found extra meals on August 18 during her Gary route. She offered them to a struggling mother without power, who she saw outside with her children, including a newborn. Blossom recognizes the importance of providing aid in times of need.

NIPSCO reported over 33,000 people lacked power as of Saturday morning, with about 17,000 residing in Gary. Meals on Wheels has become crucial during these unprecedented outages, boasting 500 volunteers and 50 routes, delivering approximately 2,200 meals daily. Volunteer Manager Faith Evers explained volunteers can report a client’s condition change, prompting wellness checks from their client services team.

Adjustments were made, such as delivering hot meals on weekends instead of frozen ones to those still without power. They received names of those in dire need from Gary’s city government, optimizing the meal delivery process to meet demand efficiently.

Director of Community Engagement and Marketing Melissa Huffman mentioned their services in Gary cover about 108,000 meals annually. They’ve added 21 new clients following the recent storms. The nonprofit aims to raise $50,000 through the Neighbors in Need: Start Your Engines NWI campaign, which would fund 8,000 meals.