Service feeds body and soul

Sometimes overshadowed by political protests and sensational headlines are some of the true success stories of a community.

Home Delivered Meals has such a story.

For more than a quarter of a century, the program based at the Floyd D. Smith Senior Center in Wasilla has been delivering home-cooked meals to area seniors and the homebound. With little fanfare, on holidays and in all kinds of weather, these cooks, volunteers and delivery drivers do more than simply bring food to a doorstep. They deliver hope, a smile, a friendly face and someone to talk to and spend a few minutes with.

In Wasilla, 82-year-old Loranna “Flicker Red” Petrovich appreciates receiving daily visits from Home Delivered Meals. In addition to the good food, she enjoys cracking wise with the delivery drivers, and spent some time this week with Frontiersman reporter Chris Gillow.

“They should be praised every day for keeping us healthy,” Petrovich said of Home Delivered Meals staff and volunteers. “If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what us homebound people would do.”

Robin Hall, executive director for Wasilla Area Seniors Inc., the nonprofit organization that operates the senior center and Home Delivered Meals, says that social interaction is as important for those served as the nutrition.

We’re proud to have organizations like Home Delivered Meals and the selfless volunteers and staff that operate the program. While the press often is chastised for chasing ambulances or sensationalizing the worst parts of our society, it’s gratifying to bring readers stories like Gillow’s feature in today’s newspaper. Here are some facts that are truly sensational.

• Home Delivered Meals provides 60 to 70 meals a day for the aging and homebound in the Mat-Su Valley. That’s 21,900 to 25,550 meals a year delivered to local residents.

• Although the program has built up over the past 26 years, even a conservative estimate that over the life of the program Home Delivered Meals has averaged about half of its current volume, the tally is staggering. An average of 12,000 meals a year comes to about 312,000 meals.

• The program is self-sufficient and operates through the generosity of community donations.

As the Mat-Su Valley continues to grow, there will be more need for services like Home Delivered Meals and local volunteers to keep the meals rolling. Contact Wasilla Area Seniors at 376-3104 for more information about volunteering or becoming a client.

We salute Home Delivered Meals for not only feeding the bodies of those it serves, but their souls as well.