By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Every weekday, more than 600 older Wood County residents wait for a friendly face to arrive at their doors with a nutritious meal.
The main entrees on the menu this month are plentiful, including chicken paprikash, Swedish meatballs, chipped beef, catfish, goulash and ground bologna.
But the drivers needed to get those meals to the seniors in all areas of the county are in short supply.
For months, the Wood County Committee on Aging has made do with a lean staff. All employees are cross trained to double up on another position when needed – and that’s been a lot lately.
“As we try to uphold the mission of serving older adults, we are very stretched,” said Jason Miller, who has taken several shifts behind the meal delivery truck wheel.
All the services provided by the WCCOA are valuable to local seniors. But there is one priority that rises to the top each weekday – getting lunches delivered to doors in cities, towns and out in the far reaches of the county’s rural areas.
“That’s the bottom line,” said Denise Niese, executive director of the WCCOA. So staff members are pulled from other jobs to make sure the meatloaf or the ham and bean soup gets into the hands of local seniors.
The need is so critical that the topic dominated conversation at the WCCOA Board meeting on Wednesday in the Walbridge satellite senior center. Jason Miller often deserts his role as manager of human resources, and Keith Whitacre puts his job as finance director on hold to drive the delivery routes.
And that’s become the norm.
“We are trying to get the word out,” Niese said.
So here are the details:
- There are eight paid meal delivery routes. Four are out of the meal production kitchen in Bowling Green, and four leave from sites throughout the county. Drivers are currently needed for the routes that start at the satellite centers in North Baltimore and Rossford. (Site managers are also needed for the Pemberville and North Baltimore centers.)
- Route drivers use the Wood County Committee on Aging’s small delivery trucks, which have separate areas for hot and cold foods.
- The hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Those hours could work well for retirees or stay-at-home parents, Niese said.
- Drivers are paid $16 an hour and have 11 paid holidays during the year.
- Training is provided before drivers start a route.
- Pre-employment screenings involve drug tests, background checks, and other web-based checks, since the drivers go into homes to deliver meals.
- Substitute drivers are also needed.
- Anyone interested should contact Jason Miller at 419-353-5661.
Miller pointed out the value to the home delivered meals beyond the food itself.
“This might be the one time someone has interaction with someone else,” he said of the seniors at their homes. And Niese pointed out that there have been multiple incidents when drivers have come to the rescue of seniors in need of help at their homes.
“It’s really rewarding,” Whitacre said of the job. “It gives you a really good perspective on life when you deliver meals.”
A couple WCCOA board members have also filled in on meal routes.
“You build a relationship with the people,” Lou Katzner said.
“It’s very gratifying,” even if some of the folks grumble about liver and onions on the menu, George Stossel said.
Nicole Brooks, who has been a driver for the Wood County Committee on Aging for 21 years, said she still loves coming to work.
“I get in my truck and deliver food. It’s not like you’re working. You get to talk to people and check on them,” Brooks said. “And I drive a company truck. I love my job.”
