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Meals on Wheels may need new funding after 40 years by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff 17 | Friday, September 30, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville Kiwanis Meals on Wheels delivers more than just a hot meal. For 40 years, it's been a fixture in the community with trusted volunteers who not only deliver a hot lunch, but a warm smile and friendly visit. Often, that is the only connection their clients may have with another person that day, said Oakville Kiwanis Meals on Wheels Executive Director Jacqui Gardner. "The caring and comfort they deliver along with the meal, and the careful observations made during deliveries, provide daily reassurance to relatives and caregivers," she said. "In cases where clients have families living a distance away, this daily contact and wellness check becomes even more invaluable. They never leave a door unanswered." Helping seniors stay at home That need for the service, social connection and well-being check is growing as many older adults remain living at home as they age. Research proves with the right nutrition and that daily well-being check, seniors enjoy a greater quality of life and independence, often avoiding hospitalization and a move to more costly regulated living arrangements, Gardner said. This, in turn, saves extensive health-care costs while assisting seniors to remain happily and safely where they prefer to be. Last year, volunteers delivered 25,000 meals in Oakville. When the Oakville Kiwanis Meals on Wheels service was first introduced in Oakville in October 1976, it delivered 30 meals per week to a client base of about 80 people. Now, it delivers an average of 475 meals, hot and frozen, to more than 300 clients that range in age from early 30s to 100 years. Gardner, who has been with Meals on Wheels for 10 years, first as a volunteer co-ordinator and more recently as executive director, said clients come from all walks of life. Quite often, they're living at home, quietly coping with the difficulties of an illness or frailty due to aging. One client, who was a famous Russian ballet teacher who travelled the world, has, at age 76, Oakville MP John Oliver helps Jacqui Gardner, executive director of the Oakville Kiwanis Meals on Wheels, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, deliver a meal to senior Barbara Whitehouse. | Graham Paine Metroland celebrated at the Meals on Wheel's 40th annual general meeting, which took place Wednesday (Sept. 28). Supporters, who have helped keep the organization afloat, were also recognized -- including United Way of Oakville, both Royal Canadian Legion Oakville and Bronte branches, Oakville Community Foundation, Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar and the Kiwanis Club of Oakville. Meals on Wheels also took time to recognize its growth, especially in the last year as it changed its food provider from OTMH to Mo's Family Restaurant. It achieved CARF accreditation as it is recognized as a service provider committed to quality improvement, focused on the unique needs of each person the provider serves, and monitoring the results of services. Challenges to come Gardner notes it will face challenges. The funding it has received annually from the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network for at least 30 years to help cover about 40 per cent of Meals on Wheels' gross operating budget will no longer be available, effective March 31, 2017. Gardner said they've been told funding will be regionalized and a new set of eligibility criteria established. Early discussions seem to indicate Meals on Wheels may not receive much funding, she added. As such, the organization is looking for other funding sources or opportunities. Noting Meals on Wheels already keeps a lean budget, operating a two-person office with a part-time bookkeeper, she noted it will be a challenge. "Having overcome the hurdles of this past year, and as we embark on our 40th year of operation, we will persevere to establish alternatives, and hopefully perpetual, financial support so that we can continue to support the Oakville community and those residents who rely on Meals on Wheels," wrote Gardner and board chair Bob Griesbach in the organization's 2016 annual report. As always, Meals on Wheels continues to look for volunteers to help the growing need of the service within the community. For more information, visit www. oakvillemealsonwheels.com. seen her world become a lot smaller. "Following infection in her foot in her late 60s, she was confined to a wheelchair and the muscles in her legs deteriorated," she said. "Now, she can go no further than a block from her apartment. A following surgery left her with no feeling in six of her fingers and she could no longer cook for herself." Gardner said the woman has said the service keeps her from "getting lonely." It's a sentiment echoed by other clients. Fitzie James, who has been a volunteer over the last 35 years, noted it's been an eyeopening experience for her to see what kind of difference she can make just by dropping off a meal and saying hello. She too has become quite attached to seeing her clients every week on her two delivery routes. "It's rewarding," said James, who also volunteers at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) and St. James Parish and first began volunteering because her young children started school full-time. "Of all the volunteer work I do, I love this the best." She said lending an ear has led to some memorable moments and great laughs and she cherishes the bonds she has formed. "A simple little hug, you have no idea how it thrills them because some of them don't have family around here," she continued. James isn't the only volunteer that values the role Meals on Wheels plays in the lives of Oakville residents. There are 91 active volunteers, 43 volunteers active for 10 years or more, and another volunteer, Jenny Bax, who has been delivering meals for 30 years. Gardner admitted there's little turnover in volunteer numbers, which, she said, speaks to how dedicated the volunteer force is and their belief in the work they do. Referencing the organization's annual report, Gardner said 100 per cent of its clients rate the volunteers and staff as excellent and the same high percentage would recommend the service. Volunteers are the heart and soul of the program, Gardner said. James and Bax, among others, were Jet Peel - Facial of the Future Natural, Effective, Gentle & Painless Buying? Selling? Re-financing? Call us for a quote at Jameson Glas D. 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