AUSTIN, Texas -- Thousands of homebound seniors across Texas have come to rely on the Meals on Wheels program not only for the food, but oftentimes the social interaction that comes with it. But as coronavirus concerns continue, the organization’s protocols for delivering those essential meals are changing.
- Meals on Wheels still delivering meals to homebound seniors
- Often provide only social interaction seniors receive
- Plan in place for meal assistance in quarantine scenario
Jan Watson is one of dozens of volunteers in Austin who are still committed to making sure elderly homebound Central Texans receive a hot meal, even in the midst of COVID-19 concerns.
“My dad delivered Meals on Wheels for 37 years,” said Watson. “He died in 2018, and I’m continuing his route.”
Watson herself falls into the vulnerable population when it comes to her age. She's over 60. Still, she’s not concerned about making deliveries in the middle of a national emergency. Watson only had three deliveries to make on Monday, but she realized those are three people who not only expect the daily meal, but also the person-to-person contact.
“We chit-chat. Now we’ll just chit-chat from six feet away," Watson said.
Meals on Wheels volunteers are now being instructed to place client meals near their clients’ doors, knock, and then wait for the person to come to the door and pick it up.
Meals on Wheels employees prepare meals for homebound seniors in this image from March 16, 2020. (Matthew Mershon/Spectrum News)
“I know one is not going to be able to get on the ground,” lamented Watson. “But I know I can hand it to her at a safe distance, and hopefully one of her grandkids is there to help.”
“I think putting this new protocol in place, it sends the message that we’re doing what we can to protect both the volunteer and the client,” said Adam Hauser, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels Central Texas. “And I fully expect that our volunteers will continue to do what they do every day, every year, until we’re told otherwise or we have to shut down.”
The protocol is likely to change frequently with each new update on the spread of COVID-19. Hauser said if Meals on Wheels is required to shut down, there is a plan in place.
“We’ve already ordered shelf-stable meals, boxed shelf-stable meals that we would deliver to our clients that would provide meals for them for two weeks during any supposed quarantine period,” said Hauser.
That shipment of shelf-stable meals hasn't arrived just yet, but Hauser expects them in within the next day or two. Hauser hopes they don’t have to use them. In the meantime, volunteers will continue to deliver meals and deliver that daily social interaction, albeit at a distance.
“We always check - How are you? You know - What’s happening? How are you feeling? So they know that there’s other folks that care about them other than their own immediate family,” said Watson.