Chelsea State Bank ad

Meals on Wheels currently serves 60 Chelsea clients

Photo by Lisa Carolin. Meals on Wheels volunteers arrive at the Chelsea Senior Center to deliver meals in the area. Pictured are Mary Erskine, longtime employee of Meals on Wheels as well as volunteers Skip Brewster and Janice Webster.

By Lisa Carolin

Every weekday, employees and volunteers combine their efforts so that senior citizens who live in the Chelsea area can receive meals.

The meals range from lunches prepared for members of the Chelsea Senior Center to meals delivered to people’s homes as part of the Meals on Wheels program.

Last year, Chelsea Meals on Wheels served 140 homebound clients. Currently 60 clients in Chelsea and 11 clients in Manchester receive Meals on Wheels.

“Meals on wheels supports seniors, 60 and older, who live in Washtenaw County and are homebound,” said Jennifer Smith, Chelsea Senior Center program manager, who coordinates the administrative aspects of the program.

Photo by Lisa Carolin. Bev Royal organizes the lunch bags before delivery by Meals on Wheels volunteers.

“Homebound means that they do not drive so they are unable to get to the grocery store or to come in to the center for daily Senior Cafe lunches,” she said, adding, “People choose Meals on Wheels for a variety of reasons including recuperating from surgery or illness.”

Mary Erskine is the Senior Nutrition Program site coordinator, and she’s worked with Meals on Wheels for more than 30 years. She specifically coordinates kitchen volunteers and Meals on Wheels drivers.

“We use an average of 20 kitchen volunteers each week and 25 volunteer drivers each week,” said Smith. “Typical kitchen volunteer duties include washing fruit; packaging individual portions of fruit, rolls, cold salads, and desserts; portioning hot foods into compartmentalized containers, sealing, labeling, and placing them into insulated hot bags by delivery route. These volunteers also set the tables for our Senior Cafe lunch each day.”

The average route takes one hour, with longer times for more rural routes and those in Manchester. Volunteer drivers must pass a background check processed by Washtenaw County.

Chelsea resident Ann Feeney began volunteering for the Senior Nutrition Program more than 30 years ago.

“I began as a driver for the program and it was a good way to learn the geography of the area,” said Feeney. “The program was started by Church Women United, an ecumenical group that got together when they realized the need. I’ve met a lot of really interesting people over the years and have enjoyed finding the connections.”

Bev Royal has been volunteering with Meals on Wheels for 13 years in both Chelsea and Ann Arbor.

“I feel it is important to give back to the community,” said Royal. “This is a great opportunity to help your neighbors, especially those who are homebound. At the Chelsea Meals on Wheels, I help out in the kitchen getting the hot meals dished, and the fruits, breads and desserts washed and bagged for our seniors. My unofficial title is ‘bag lady’ as I organize the lunch bags for our Manchester folks and our seniors who also need meals over the weekend.”

Smith says the Senior Nutrition Programs are supported by 5,000 volunteer hours every year, which means they are always looking for volunteers.

To register, clients can call the Chelsea Senior Center at 734-475-9242 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m-4 p.m. Seniors can make reservations 24 hours in advance at that same number for the Senior Cafe and are asked for a donation of $3.

The Chelsea Senior Center recently received grant funding to replace the commercial refrigerator and freezer needed to support the Senior Nutrition Program, and all proceeds from the upcoming Festival of Tables event will support the Senior Nutrition Programs.

Smith said, “The importance of these senior meals is not just nutrition; socialization has been shown to be a significant determinant of health and wellness for seniors. For rural homebound seniors, receiving a daily wellness check through Meals on Wheels is as equally important as receiving the hot meal delivered to their doorstep.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

3 thoughts on “Meals on Wheels currently serves 60 Chelsea clients”

  1. Who are the people in the first photo? You could at least recognize them for their service. You probably have their names since you are using their photo.

  2. The meals received are very well done and identifiable. I have seen other MOW from different areas, consisting of a sandwich or unidentifiable food on a container of some sort. Keep up the great job.

Comments are closed.

More News

Meet Lyndon Township Author Harold Fischel

March 30, 2023

Trinity Health Michigan Appoints New Chair and Vice Chair to Board of Directors

March 30, 2023

Check Out These April Events at the Chelsea Wellness Center

March 30, 2023

Reminder: Easter Egg Hunt on April 1 at Chelsea ATA

March 30, 2023

Save The Dates for Rec It Tuesdays

March 30, 2023

April 7: Teen Gamers Club at Chelsea District Library

March 30, 2023

Kiera Crawley Aims to Expand Chelsea’s Water Polo Program for Girl Scout Gold Award

March 29, 2023

April 3-4: Auditions for The Only Man in Town

March 29, 2023

Consider Becoming a Sculpture Walk Chelsea Sponsor

March 29, 2023

March 30: Transportation Working Group Meeting Agenda

March 29, 2023

April 1: Night of Amphibians at the Discovery Center

March 29, 2023

April 5: ‘Playful Snacks’ at Chelsea District Library

March 29, 2023

Post Season Chelsea High School Diving Awards

March 29, 2023

Meet Chelsea City Manager Roy Atkinson

March 28, 2023

Chelsea Hospital Sponsors Mood Lifters Mental Health Program at Chelsea Senior Center

March 28, 2023

April 12: Evening Primrose Garden Club Presentation ‘Butchart Gardens’

March 28, 2023

Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority Seeks Education Specialist

March 28, 2023

April 3: ‘Living with our Wild Neighbors’ at Chelsea Library

March 28, 2023

March 29: WCC Spring Career Fair

March 28, 2023

City of Chelsea Receives Awards For Water, Trail Town Designation

March 27, 2023

April 17-23: CEF Online Auction to Support Teachers 

March 27, 2023