Big changes are coming to the Meals-on-Wheels program next month. Long operated as an independent venture founded by one of Coronado’s most beloved residents, Sharp Coronado’s “Meals on Wheels” recently decided that it could not provide, by itself, the quality of service seniors here deserved. Over the summer Sharp Coronado reached out to with Meals-on-Wheels of Greater San Diego, a larger organization whose only mission is provide nutritious meals to people who can no longer cook for themselves. So in just over a month, Coronado will become part of the San Diego group’s “adopt-a-route” program.
“Our primary mission is hospital care, not nutrition” said Barbara Malebranche, Patient Relations Manager at Sharp Coronado. “Although we realize nutrition is important, we could not offer the absolute best. Meals-on-Wheels San Diego can. Nutrition is what they do.”
The new program, set to start on October 5, offers seniors a week’s worth of meals. The cost will still be $7 per meal. Seniors can select from a variety of meal plans: the lunch and dinner, lunch only, or dinner only, according to the group’s website. All come with a beverage. Deliveries are made Monday though Saturday.
“We deliver four meals on Saturday, so seniors have something to eat on Sunday,” said Debbie Case, president and CEO of Meals-On-Wheels, Greater San Diego. One of the two daily meals can be frozen, so recipients can put it in a microwave or toaster oven to have it fresh instead of reheating it.
The organization also has an “opt out” menu. This allows recipients to exchange foods they don’t like or can’t eat. “Many seniors don’t understand wraps, so when its on the menu the can order a sandwich instead, ” Case said. Other examples of dietary preference that can be accommodated include seniors who don’t like fish or can’t eat pork for religious reasons, or those who can’t eat large salads because of medications they are taking. There are substitutions available on the menu for all of these situations.
However, there are no special meals for people with diabetes or cardiovascular conditions. “They aren’t necessary,” Case said. “All are meals low-fat, low-salt and low-sugar.” The organization has been around for 55 years — long enough to know how to accommodate most dietary needs or preferences. The one exception is a vegetarian diet, though they hope to offer that option soon, Case said.
The boxed meals for lunch and dinner will still be delivered between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. The lunch meal, called a “happy meal” is usually a sandwich or salad. The evening meal includes an entree, two sides, fruit or a vegetable, plus dessert. “We offer all these, because lots of seniors like to graze,” said Case. Beverage options include one-percent milk, soy milk, and six different juices, offered on a rotating basis. One day it might be an apple, the next day an orange or grapes.
Above: B. J. Adleson loads meals into the Meals-on-Wheels van
The program is designed to meet not only the dietary needs of seniors, but also provide for their general well being. Daily visitors bring a deeper level of socialization and human contact; every meal has to be handed to the recipient or placed in their refrigerator. Enough time is allotted to so seniors have a chance to visit with the volunteers delivering the meals. The program even helps seniors take care of their companion animals; seniors can also order food for their pets through Meals-on-Wheels, Greater San Diego. (The animals’ meals are delivered once a week.)
The longer visits, and the rule that volunteers must bring the food into the house, also provide an extra level of personal safety for a housebound person. “If someone doesn’t answer the door, we are instructed to call the hospital right away,” said B. J. Adleson, who has been the volunteer coordinator for the past 15 years. Because someone comes by nearly every day, it reduces the risk that a senior injured or in distress will go unnoticed and unattended.
The transfer to the San Diego program is the first major change to the Coronado program since Francis Harpst started it here in the late 1950s. Although the Coca-Cola heiress gave millions to the city, the church, the schools and animal welfare, Meals-on-Wheels was closest to her heart. “She set everything up. She even bought the first van,” said Harriet Sander, Director of Volunteer Services at Sharp Coronado.
“She drove the van one day a week and served as a resource for the program. “She was a real team player and a problem solver,” Sander said. Over the decades a cadre of volunteers, almost all seniors, delivered meals to housebound residents or to people not up to cooking for themselves.
“That will not change,” said Case. “Your beloved volunteers will still deliver all the meals. The only difference is that they will do it as part of our family.”
It’s important to remember that “not everyone who receives meals-on-wheels is a shut-in or stays on the program for an extended period of time,” Adleson said. “Some people stop during the holidays when family is in to cook for them or only use it while recovering from surgery.”
To ensure that the program meets everyone’s needs, representatives from the organization will meet with all current clients individually to discuss the new program. “We want to do as much as we can to make the transition as seamless as possible,” Case said.
Breaking its tradition of running its own program, independent of San Diego, did not come easily. Sharp Coronado gave the matter a good deal of thought, but came to the conclusion that it was “a win-win for everyone,” Malebranche said.
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Gloria Tierney
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
