By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher delivered black eyed peas hash to homes for lunch today, he was doing more than handing out a hot meal.
At his first stop off Manville Avenue, the man inside the doorway instructed the mayor to put the meals on a chair outside his door. The pair chatted for a bit, with Aspacher asking how the man inside was getting by during the pandemic.
They parted ways, with the man getting a hot lunch, and the mayor getting an idea of the people who rely on the Wood County Committee on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program. In Bowling Green alone there are 150 households that get the daily meals.
Every March, the Wood County Committee on Aging invites public officials to help deliver lunches to local residents as part of the March for Meals program. On Tuesday, it was Aspacher and Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn who loaded up their vehicles with meals and a map for deliveries.
Their cargo included hot lunches of black eyed peas hash, french green beans, peaches, and a salad of cabbage, apples and raisins.
Angie Bradford, director of food services for the Wood County Committee on Aging, acknowledged that the hash is not one of the favorite meals of seniors. The most popular meals serve up hamloaf, stuffed cabbage rolls and “anything with chicken,” she said.
But since COVID and the increased demands on home-delivered meals, the Meals on Wheels program does not offer a selection each day. With the numbers of meals jumping from about 525 before COVID to nearly 800 now, one meal option is served each day.
“There’s been a tremendous growth in home-delivered meals,” Bradford said. “There is a definite need.”
The meals – which travel throughout Wood County – are delivered by Wood County Committee on Aging staff and by volunteers. The March for Meals program allows elected officials to see the extent of the need, Bradford said.
“I think it’s important to have the awareness,” Wasylyshyn said as he picked up the meals. “It’s very important for many seniors to stay in their homes. It gives them independence.”
This was the first year for Aspacher to deliver the meals as mayor.
“I want to demonstrate my support for the program,” he said. “I want to show my appreciation for people who daily deliver the meals.”
