Snow stops wheels, but not their meals
Emergency food supplies save the day for county’s Meals on Wheels recipients

BY JILL TATGE-ROZELL jrozell@kenoshanews.com

    Ida Moyer, 91, looks forward to the daily knock on her door signaling the arrival of a fully prepared meal. On Friday, when the Meals on Wheels program was canceled due to the blizzard conditions, that knock never came.
    But she still had food, thanks to an emergency food project coordinated by the Rotary Club of Kenosha.
    Without the box of emergency food, she wouldn’t have had much to eat..
    “I got a box of emergency food in September that had soup and other items in case delivery had to be canceled due to weather,” Moyer said Friday. “If they would have come, they wouldn’t have been able to get my door open without shoveling it first.”
    It wasn’t the spread of meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, string beans, milk, bread and lemon meringue pie that she had earlier in the week. But it was nutritious and Moyer was grateful.
    The emergency food boxes distributed by Meals on Wheels, with the help of a $7,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Kenosha, provided five non-perishable meals each to the 300 program recipients, Meals on Wheels Director Dana Futrell said.
    Futrell was disappointed that the regular meals couldn’t be delivered, but secure in the knowledge that no one would go hungry.
    “We did have to cancel the program due to the snow,” Futrell said. “We are so grateful that we were still able to make sure each client had a an alternate meal. It is a nice safety valve to have.”
    Emergency food boxes are delivered to each participant every September in preparation for the upcoming winter season.
    Rotary President Kevin Kleid said he felt a sense of relief Friday morning when he heard that Meals on Wheels had been canceled but knew no one would miss a meal.
    “I thought, ‘At least I know people will still be fed,’“ Kleid said, adding that the club has provided money for the emergency food boxes for three years. “We are thankful to be able to support a program like Meals on Wheels and it’s days like these that show people how important that support is.”
    Futrell said the food boxes contain items such as stew, chili, and dried cereal. Recipients are provided with a letter when they receive the box alerting them to the possibility that the delivery may be canceled due to weather.
    “I know when I signed up that if school is closed there will most likely not be a meal arriving,” Moyer said. “You can’t expect the volunteers who have children to leave them at home so they can deliver the food.”
    Futrell said the advance weather reports helped coordinators notify and plan for the cancelation. Recipients who are identified as being at possible risk during such a crisis are notified directly by telephone.
    “Because we had such a heads up on the storm we were really able to prepare,” Futrell said.
    The Daybreak program for county residents with dementia and their families was also cancelled Friday and coordinators worked hard to make sure elderly residents would not miss important medical appointments for which they use the escort service provided by Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services, Inc, the organization which also sponsors Meals on Wheels.
    For more information on these programs, call Family and Aging Services at (262) 658-3508.