Longmont Meals on Wheels program serves 525 meals in the Longmont, Lyons, Hygiene and Niwot areas daily, five days a week. The program has over 30 volunteers who package meals and deliver them to people of all ages while also performing a welfare check. As volunteers prepared for their daily trips on Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis stopped by to lend a helping hand.
The Longmont Meals on Wheels program is housed inside the Longmont Senior Center. Each day volunteers arrive as early as 6 a.m. to begin cooking meals for the program’s clients. Around 10 a.m. volunteer drivers arrive and begin loading them into their vehicles for distribution.
Holly Henry has been a volunteer with the organization for almost 10 years. As a former teacher, her heart has always been geared toward helping others. She said some of her friends volunteered at the hospital but it wasn’t a fit for Henry. She found the Meals on Wheels program and fell in love with its mission to make sure those who are homebound have healthy meals and someone to check on them.
As Henry exited the Meals on Wheels entrance, carrying one of several bags stuffed with meals for her daily route, she met Polis. He greeted her and thanked her for volunteering while taking a moment to learn a little bit about the people who would receive the meals today.
Polis proceeded inside where he learned that Longmont Meals on Wheels offers sliding scale pricing for individuals in the community. Each meal costs $6 at its full rate, however, over 60% of the nonprofit’s clients qualify for a reduced rate, with the average paying only $2 per meal. Some people receive their meals for free.
Because the Longmont Meals on Wheels does not receive federal or state funding, it can serve people ages 55 and younger. It also has a program that provides five free meals to individuals who have left the hospital. Those people do not have to meet specific qualifications.
Polis stopped by the Meals on Wheels kitchen and helped with a few finishing touches before announcing Route 17’s meals were ready to be loaded. He asked how long the volunteer had delivered meals and learned where the route was located.
“Any chance we can take to elevate the needs of older adults who are living at home alone is so important to us. The nutritional needs of older adults is so different than the needs of the general population or children it is often overlooked. Polis joining us just elevates that conversation,” said Katie Wiser, developmental and communications director for Longmont Meals on Wheels.
