Dave Mink

           Every weekday, 28 Meals on Wheels volunteers throughout Kenosha County make it their business to see that hot meals are delivered to nearly 300 homebound residents who cannot prepare their own food.

          The majority of the routes, 22 at last count, are east of I-94. The remaining six are in rural areas of the county.

          Sponsored by Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services, Inc. (KAFASI) the program has been in operation since it was developed in 1973 by the Kenosha Junior Woman’s Club.

          Dave Mink is one of the volunteers who helps keep the crucial program humming. He is not assigned to a regular route, but instead functions as a substitute driver.

          “Anytime a driver cannot do their route for any reason, Dave is ready to jump in and sub, whether it is once a week, twice a week or even twice in one day,” said Dana Tehako-Esser, KAFASI Volunteer Services Coordinator. “Seriously, this has happened when he delivered two routes in one day!”

          But Mink, who has been volunteering since October, 2000, said delivering meals gives him a lift.

          “When I get up in the morning, I might not feel too good,” he said, “But when I get done with a route, I feel a lot better.”

          A lifelong Kenosha resident, Mink, 63, worked for Kenosha Unified School District for 32 years, retiring in 1998 from his position as crew leader of the Electronic Equipment Repair Department. He took an early retirement because of heart trouble.

          Though he notes that his heart only functions at 10 to 15 percent, he doesn’t let that keep him from an active lifestyle. That includes golfing twice a week in the warm months.

          Mink and his wife, Marge, have a standing date every Wednesday. They visit art museums and other nearby attractions, go shopping and out to lunch. KAFASI knows that he is never available on Wednesdays.

          Drivers pick up the food for their route at 11 a.m., at one of several sites around the county.   Then, armed with their list of addresses, they set out to deliver the meals, which are kept hot in a special insulated container.

          Most routes cover about 10 miles and serve about 10 people, according to Mink. It takes about an hour and a half, from the time he leaves his house until he gets back home again.

          “They are always looking for volunteers,” Mink said. “If anybody has an extra hour or two during the week, it is well worth your time to help out.”

          To be eligible to receive meals from the KAFASI program, a person must be a resident of Kenosha County, be unable to cook their own meal and have no one to cook for them.

          Recipients must be homebound, able to feed themselves, able to open the door for the volunteer driver and willing to accept home visits by a social worker.

          A hot noon meal costs $4.50 and a cold meal that can be saved for the evening is priced at $3.25. Frozen meals are available for weekends at a cost of $4.50.          

Tehako-Esser said emergency meals also are delivered once a year to ensure that clients have non-perishable food available in case of an emergency such as a snowstorm.

Special menus are available for persons with restricted diets.

          Tehako-Esser asks anyone with spare time to sign up to help deliver meals. Regular drivers need replacements when they go on vacation, call in sick or have to keep an appointment.

          “Having subs that can fill in at the last minute is so important,” she said. “We need more Daves!”

          Interested persons are urged to call Tehako-Esser at (262) 658-3508 ext. 120 or e-mail her at volunteer@mcleodusa.net.