UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Two Union County employees are being called lifesavers after they delivered a life-saving lunch earlier this year.

Susie Calkins and Cathy Farley, both employees in the county’s building code enforcement office, do not consider themselves heroes. Instead, they say they were just doing their regular Meals on Wheels volunteer work.

Union County says the two employees saved a 74-year-old man whom had fallen in his home 

The man had been stuck on the ground for two days when Calkins and Farley knocked on the door to deliver a meal

The two were recently honored with Union County's Lifesaver Award

The two county employees work together and take turns with other staff handling a Meals on Wheels route three days a week.

Calkins and Farley said their volunteering really picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the county asked for more help.

“My mother passed away about four years ago, and she and her good friend did this very same route for a number of years. So she had often spoken very highly of the residents and how much she enjoyed this and how fulfilling it was. And, I found out she was absolutely right,” Farley said about the route she and Calkins handle one day a week.

A year and a half later, they have no plans of stopping.

“I enjoy helping the residents of Union County, because throughout this process we’ve learned so many people don’t have anybody at all, and so, to get this warm meal, to see a smiling face once a day, just really helps them and makes their day go by better,” Calkins said in the front seat of her car as they drove from house to house.

The system is organized. Calkins and Farley pick up the meals one week day morning, hop in Calkins’ SUV and head off to homes across the area to deliver meals to senior citizens. As Calkins drives, the two discuss the familiar names and faces on the route, who’s doing well, what family members help out and sometimes sadly, what faces are not around anymore.

The knowledge of their route comes in handy. In fact, on a fateful day this April it saved a life.

“He always said he would always be here. That he didn’t have a vehicle, so we knocked on the door, kept knocking on the door and we finally heard a faint call where he had fallen,” Calkins recalled.

The two were delivering a meal at one of their regular houses on a Monday morning. Little did they know, the 74-year-old man inside had fallen Saturday morning and was stuck on the ground for roughly 48 hours.

So, they called 911, their Meals on Wheels supervisors and waited with nervous energy from the other side of the locked front door.

“Obviously a lot of emotions were involved. We knew he was obviously in some sort of distress and couldn’t get to the door. It was a little nerve wracking, but it turned out okay,” Farley added.

The 74-year-old man was severely dehydrated and weak, according to Union County officials, but he recovered from the incident.

The county honored the two women with a lifesaver award several weeks later, saying their patience at the door helped saved the man’s life.

“It was very nice to be recognized, although, certainly, it was not necessary. I feel like it’s just something that anyone would have done,” Farley said simply.

For these two busy volunteers, it was just another day on the job helping people in their community.

The Union County Meals on Wheels program is hopeful there are more people out there like Calkins and Farley.

The program delivers roughly 1,400 meals a week and is always in need of volunteers, according to coordinator Gloria Haney.

“Right now we have a few open routes in our Monroe area, we also always need subs. We have four sites — we have a Marshville, a Monroe, Mineral Springs and an Indian Trail site. And, we always have a need in all those areas for subs and for people to take over routes when others, who need to resign from volunteering,” Haney said.

To volunteer for the program you need a driver’s license, car and be able to pass a background check.

The Meals on Wheels program provides food to any homebound seniors over the age of 60 who request assistance, according to Haney. 

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