More Than Just a Meal

How to Help

Meals on Wheels Helped 215 Local Folks Last Year

Since 1966, Combined Community Action, Inc. (CCA) has been providing services to assist and improve the lives of people in multiple communities including Fayette County. It is one of over a thousand Community Action agencies in the nation whose goal is to help people help themselves. Programs like Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA), the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), and a Weatherization Program are just a part of what CCA has done to help low-income families, the elderly, and families with small children.

Meals on Wheels is one of the many initiatives that CCA has taken to help seniors receive the care they need. It is the only program with no income limitations; the one caveat is that they must be sixty or older. Volunteers deliver free hot or frozen meals to clients every one or two weeks depending on their location. Each delivery includes one box with five entrees, dried fruit, bread, crackers, and five cartons of milk.

In 2022, 215 older adults were served 30,418 free meals through Meals on Wheels, and CCA hopes to have even more of an impact in the coming year; while this in and of itself is an amazing achievement, those who have seen the program in action affirm that it is more than just a meal.

“It’s not just someone walking to the door, handing them a meal, and walking away…It’s very much about making sure that there’s some contact, making sure that they know that somebody is caring about what happens to them and how they’re doing,” says Communications Director Karen Walpole. “For a lot of these people this is the only visitor that they get … the social isolation is horrible.”

Meals on Wheels has opened doors for new connections not only between clients and volunteers but between seniors who choose to attend a congregate meal at their local Community Action Agency. Sites in La Grange, Flatonia, Schulenburg, Carmine, and Fayetteville provide meals for clients who want the option to meet with other clients involved in the program.

Meals on Wheels was also the first step in establishing a similar, volunteer-driven project, “Animeals” on Wheels. Walpole stated that the idea began when she received word that a Meals on Wheels client was sharing food with their pet.

“It was heartbreaking because you have someone who’s in this situation, and they want their best friend to be with them, but they maybe can’t afford to buy food. Or, if they’re homebound, they can’t necessarily get to the store to buy food.”

This story began CCA’s newest program which provided food for inside pets once a month for Meals on Wheels clients. Walpole sees the initiative as so much more than feeding pets; when asked about the purpose of Animeals on Wheels, she described both the physical and psychological benefits of having a pet for homebound elderly people. Providing for companion animals was the logical next step in improving the lives of older adults. They are also hoping that clients receiving meals will hear about other programs that might be beneficial to them; CCA can help with anything from electrical bills to case management for atrisk youth and pregnant women. As more opportunities for children with disabilities have arisen, they have been able to find prospects for these families within their specific community or school district.

“Most of the children have some sort of disability… we’re seeing more and more children with psychological issues…(a social worker on staff) works with the families to try and ease that burden,” says Executive Director Kelly Franke.

Overall, our local Community Action program has done so much to help those in our community who are struggling, and they would love for more volunteers to get involved. For more information about how to volunteer or to sign up to receive meals, you can call Combined Community Action in Giddings at (800) 688-9065. Last year, 71 people accumulated 1400 total volunteer hours, and CCA hopes for even more support in 2023. They are always looking for volunteers for the Meals on Wheels Program and would be happy to assist any older adults who would like to sign up. You can find more information about any of their programs on their website, ccaction.com.