July 2023 Impact Report
Delivering More Than a Meal
Due to a recent staff vacancy, The Health Trust had a temporary shortage of drivers to deliver Meals on Wheels. I jumped at the opportunity to drive a few routes, since I hadn’t done a route in awhile and wanted to try the new mobile app we implemented.
My recent routes took me to neighborhoods in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Los Gatos – a reminder that low-income homebound older adults live in every community in Santa Clara County. Before getting on the road, I double-checked the number of beverages my clients needed, made sure that the fruit bags for clients who can only eat soft fruits didn’t have apples, and loaded up an array of hot and frozen entrees in the car. Then I called my first client with an estimated time of arrival, and the mobile app routed me to his home.
There’s something extremely satisfying about delivering Meals on Wheels. I love the direct interaction with clients, handing them a delicious and nutritious meal, as well as checking in on them with my own eyes. There’s such a tangible sense of meaningful project completion at the end of each route. I never wonder, “Did I make a difference?” on my Meals on Wheels days.
On one of my visits, the client was an older woman who was legally blind, living in a second floor walk-up apartment, and cautious on her feet. She was so grateful for her Meals on Wheels that she grabbed my hand and kissed it. That’s a memory I will treasure, and a reminder of how privileged I am to serve.
One of the things keeping me up at night is worry about all the seniors needing home-delivered meals who aren’t receiving them. Government pandemic funding is drying up, individual donations are trending down throughout the nonprofit sector, and yet the need for food is still so high, right here in our backyards.
We at The Health Trust, in collaboration with our many partners, can solve food insecurity in Silicon Valley. Please join us in strategizing about how to ensure no homebound senior has to go without a meal. We treasure you and thank you for your support.
Yours in community,
Michele Lew
Chief Executive Officer