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Meals on Wheels Needs More Volunteer Drivers Meals on Wheels Need More Volunteer Drivers

By Kayla Miller

KAYLA: IT ALL STARTS HERE IN THE KITCHEN AT MEALS ON WHEELS. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR MORE VOLUNTEER DRIVERS. WITH 100 OPEN ROUTES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SYRACUSE, HOT AND COLD MEALS NEED TO BE DELIVERED. COMMUNITY RELATIONS DIRECTOR MICHEAL NORTMAN SAYS IT’S OFTEN DIFFICULT TO FIND DRIVERS.

NORTMAN: IT’S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE, WE OPERATE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY EIGHT UNTIL FOUR, THAT’S TYPICALLY WHEN MOST PEOPLE ARE WORKING. FOR THAT REASON, WE GET A LOT OF STUDENTS LOOKING FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS WE ALSO GET A LOT OF RETIRED FOLKS. THERE’S ALWAYS AN ONGOING NEED FOR VOLUNTEERS.

KAYLA: WITH OVER FOUR HUNDRED VOLUNTEERS, EIGHT HUNDRED MEALS GET DELIVERED TO THE CITY OF SYRACUSE EVERY DAY.

KAYLA: YOU CAN COUNT ON DRIVERS LIKE JIM FLECKENSTEIN.

FLECKENSTEIN: MEALS ON WHEELS!… I FOUND YOU!

WOMAN: THANK YOU.

KAYLA: HE’S BEEN DELIVERING MEALS ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO YEARS. HE SAYS THE JOB IS VERY REWARDING.

FLECKENSTEIN: IT MEANS AS MUCH TO ALL OF THESE FOLKS THAT PERHAPS CAN’T PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES IN TERMS OF MEALS SO I JUST TRY TO KEEP REMINDING MYSELF OF THAT, AND I THINK IT’S A VERY WORTHY EFFORT ON MY PART AND EVERYBODY’S PART TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

KAYLA: YOU CAN SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER ON THE MEALS ON WHEELS WEBSITE

ELDERLY WOMAN: WHAT IN THE HELL IS THIS?

FLECKENSTEIN: SOMETHING GOOD.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYLA: KAYLA MILLER, N-C-C NEWS

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The non-profit organization, Meals on Wheels, is searching for more volunteer drivers to deliver meals to those in need. This month, they have 100 open routes that need to be filled during the week.

Meals on Wheels delivers about 800 hot and cold meals to the entire city of Syracuse including Skaneateles, Jordan, Elbridge, and Onondaga Nation. Each client gets two meals per day and a little extra on Wednesdays and Fridays to fill up for the weekend.

Even though they have about 450 volunteers, they still need an extra hand for all of those routes. On a typical day, about 30 routes are filled Monday through Friday, and it takes about an hour to an hour and a half for each route.

“For some reason, it’s been very slow this year,” said Tina Casella, volunteer coordinator at Meals on Wheels. “Normally, it’s difficult to find volunteers in the summer, but it’s carried over to the fall.”

Luckily, the organization has volunteers like Jim Fleckenstein to thank. He’s been a volunteer driver for two years now, delivering about 30 meals a week on his route. Fleckenstein was inspired by his mother to join Meals on Wheels. The organization was there when she couldn’t provide for herself. Now, Fleckenstein is giving back.

“It made a big difference in her life, so I just try to remind myself that as I do this I try to think about how much it meant to her,” Fleckenstein said.

To sign up to be a volunteer, you can go on the Meals on Wheels website or call Tina Casella at (315) 478-5948 ext.213.

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