Big Wheels Rolling...Volunteers Keep Them Going
Coon Rapids-Blaine Meals on Wheels
A volunteer delivering a meal through the Coon Rapids-Blaine Meals on Wheels program. (Photo credit: Coon Rapids Blaine Meals on Wheels)
"Without volunteers...we wouldn't be in existence", said Luanne Koskinen, a board member and volunteer with Coon Rapids-Blaine Meals on Wheels, during a speech to the club on December 4, 2017. Volunteers are a key ingredient in the group's broth to deliver nutritious meals to those who are home bound and unable to prepare meals on their own. Every day, 120 people in the Coon Rapids and Blaine area receive a meal that is delivered by a network of volunteer drivers.
The meals are prepared in the kitchen at Camila Rose Care Center, a senior housing facility in Coon Rapids. The program is funded through a variety of public and private sources, but delivery is handled through a network of volunteer drivers. The program is more than simply a meal service. The volunteers who deliver the meals also provide an important human connection: an opportunity to check the well-being of clients and offer conversation, even for a few moments.
Luanne Koskinen spoke to Coon Rapids Rotary on December 4, 2017 about the work of Coon Rapids-Blaine Meals on Wheels.
Meals on Wheels began in England in 1905. By the mid-1950's, the movement took hold in the United States with the first program in Philadelphia and then Minneapolis in 1961. In Anoka County, the program began in 1973 by the late Rev. Jim McChesney of Fridley United Methodist Church. The program served Fridley, Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights, Hilltop, New Brighton and Mounds View.
By 1979, the program was expanded to Coon Rapids and Blaine and has operated separately ever since. The service provides hot and cold portions delivered between noon and 1:00 PM every weekday. Clients can also receive a weekend frozen meal option, as well breakfast. Meals typically cost between $5 and $6 each and many clients pay for the food on their own.
Over 250 volunteer drivers are part of the delivery network. There are 12 routes in total, with 10 stops on each route. Most of the drivers come from local churches, although others from the community can volunteer too. Each driver must go through a background check before they can participate. Although, Meals on Wheels prefers to have volunteer drivers on a routine schedule, they are flexible and do allow others to participate on as-needed basis. For more information, check out this link to their website: http://www.crbmealsonwheels.org/
Thanks to Luanne Koskinen for her presentation last week.