They deliver

MAT-SU — As Loranna “Flicker Red” Petrovich kicks back with some late morning television Wednesday, she gets a friendly visit from a familiar delivery driver and local political figure.

Petrovich and other local seniors received a special visit from home delivery driver Larry Hamilton and Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Keller. The mayor teamed with Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. to participate in Mayor For Meals, a national event sponsored by the Meals on Wheels Association of America.

Petrovich, 82, has lived in Alaska for 70 years and has been a resident at the Floyd D. Smith Senior Center for 23 years. As someone who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and arthritis, she is grateful to have nutritious and delicious food delivered right to her door.

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

Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. (WASI) — the nonprofit organization that operates the Floyd D. Smith Senior Center — has provided the center’s operation, Home Delivered Meals, to homebound seniors since 1982. In the beginning, about 26 residents received the service. Now in its 26th year of operation, the program serves 60 to 70 meals a day.

Robin Hall, executive director of WASI, said the Home Delivered Meals program supplies food for seniors living throughout the Valley. Every day a team of drivers, staff, volunteers and a cook come together to prepare and deliver nutritious food to qualifying seniors. Hot meals are available Monday through Friday and frozen meals are distributed on weekends.

To qualify for the program, Hall said the main requirement is to be a senior at least 60 years of age. For the most part, those receiving meals also have limited mobility. With a grant from the state, the organization provides the service through donations.

Although Home Delivered Meals focuses on meals for Valley seniors, Hall said the program not just about food.

“It’s not only for their nutrition,” Hall said. “It’s also for their well-being.”

She said delivery drivers also play two other important roles in the lives of homebound residents. With many seniors having limited access to environments outside of their own homes, deliveries also serve as a chance perform a welfare check and provide some social interaction.

Petrovich said she enjoys having Hamilton and other drivers stop by to say hello. Not only do they deliver food, but also meet up on other occasions just for fun.

“They come over all the time and we wisecrack back and forth,” she said.

Hamilton, 69, said he moved to Alaska after retiring from a career with the Arizona Department of Corrections. When he got to Wasilla, he went to the senior center looking for a place to live and ended up finding a job as a home delivery driver. After eight years of delivering meals, he still enjoys hopping in the meal wagon to make his rounds.

“I don’t consider it a chore,” he said. “It’s really not work, just because it’s me wanting to get out and meet people.”

Mayor Keller decided to lend a helping hand after being approached by Hall earlier this year. Knowing the importance of taking care of seniors in the community, she said she is honored to participate.

“We have a large senior population in the Valley and I think it’s important that they have a chance to get well-balanced meals, especially because many can’t get out on their own,” she said.

In addition to lending a hand for a day, Keller said she hopes her work will have a long-lasting impact. Overall, she hopes other Valley residents see Home Delivered Meals and other senior programs as an opportunity to volunteer in the community.

For more information about Home Delivered Meals, contact Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. at 376-3104.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.