LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest difference in a person's life.
That's the case for many seniors around Lake County, who depend on the Meals on Wheels programs run by five of the county's senior centers not just for nutrition but for a critical human connection – as well as hope and independence.
The importance of this service gets special recognition in March, which in Lake County was designated “Meals on Wheels Month” in a proclamation offered to senior center directors by the Board of Supervisors on March 3.
In delivering the proclamation, District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock said that more than 116,000 meals are delivered annually to homebound seniors in Lake County as part of the Meals on Wheels programs, giving those seniors the ability to live independently in their homes for as long as possible.
Lakeport Senior Activity Center Executive Director Jonathan Crooks told the board that the month of March is an opportunity for community members to go to their local senior centers and find out how they can support them.
“The last eight years have been very, very difficult. We haven't really seen much increase in funding but we've seen increase in need,” Crooks said.
On the road with Meals on Wheels
Corned-beef and cabbage: That’s the meal local Meals on Wheels volunteer Shannon Postal – accompanied by this reporter – delivered on St. Patrick’s Day.
Some residents were happy to greet Postal with their little bit of green.
Among them was Kathleen Torres, completely decorated in the holiday color with bold green slacks and a loose-fitted patterned shirt.
“I’m full Irish,” she said with a wide smile, welcoming the visitors into her home.
Every day several volunteer drivers take to the roads to deliver meals to Lake County’s elderly.
Each morning in the kitchen of the Lakeport Senior Activity Center a handful of volunteers prepare, cook and package meals – sometimes numbering into the hundreds – for delivery along the many routes driven by Meals on Wheels volunteers.
The meal includes an entrée, bread, salad, milk and dessert. On St. Patty’s Day, dessert was a cinnamon roll with marzipan.
“We serve meals here in the center by donation everyday but some people can’t make it because they’re disabled or they live too far away so we deliver it to them,” said Crooks. “We’ve been delivering since about 1987.”
Postal has driven for Meals on Wheels for more than a year. Armed with a few bags of doggie treats and a positive attitude, she delivers for Meals on Wheels three days a week.
On Tuesdays Postal delivers along Soda Bay Road, a route that takes her 40 miles through Lakeport and into the rural outskirts of Kelseyville.
“This route you don’t know what to expect. You might not make it back for lunch,” she said. “They’re always looking for someone to do this route since it’s the longest one.”
Postal said that many people can’t afford much more food so the meals that they provide is the only food many people receive during the week.
Meals on Wheels recipients fit a diverse profile but they are all required to be at least 60 years of age before they can begin to receive deliveries.
Most have a combination of low-income, limited mobility and isolated living circumstances – often due to the death of a spouse or because their children live too far away.
But not all of the recipients fit that profile.
Larry Smith, who lives in the outskirts of Kelseyville, has been receiving deliveries from Meals on Wheels for more than eight years.
He’s quite mobile and says he goes to the grocery store twice a week, but added with a giggle, “Sometimes you don’t feel like making something and it’s nice to have it and sometimes you can’t eat the junk they send, but it’s OK.”
Torres, on the other hand, looks forward to receiving her meals everyday.
“I go to town about two days a month,” she said. “I’d probably eat worse without these deliveries since this is the first time I’ve ever lived alone. And I save a lot on gas.”
Torres started receiving Meals on Wheels when her late husband fell ill a few years ago.
Among the many photographs Torres has on the walls include pictures of her from years ago with thick red hair and a man who could only be her husband, David, wearing thick glasses, slicked hair and a candid smile.
“He was such a chauvinist,” she said, laughing. “He wouldn’t ride passenger to a woman.”
She admitted that she doesn’t get too many visitors.
When asked if she receives a lot of visits from her children, Torres replied, “Well, my closest lives in Hollister, that’s five hours away.”
Meeting the need
The Lakeport Senior Activity Center organization is always in need of more volunteers and donations for its Meals on Wheels program.
Regarding funds, Board of Directors member Margaret Brooks said, “The government gives enough money for 20,000 meals [a year] but we make 50,000. If it wasn’t for the thrift store we’d probably have to close everything down.”
The Meals on Wheels Thrift Store, located at 120 N. Main St. in Lakeport, has supplemented the organization’s income for more than four years, but there are thrift stores bearing their name in towns all over Lake County, including Clearlake and Lucerne.
Meals on Wheels also pulls the funds it needs from donations offered during silent auctions and events like dances and game nights hosted at the senior center.
In addition to ongoing expenses, this year the Lakeport Senior Activity Center is undertaking a fundraising effort to bring in $66,000 to replace its central heating and air equipment and kitchen appliances, which Crooks said are all 30-plus years old and failing.
An online fundraiser has been set up at http://www.gofundme.com/lakeportseniors .
Another critical ongoing need, according to Brooks, is for more – and younger – volunteers. “Most of our volunteers are in their 70s and 80s,” she said.
Lake County residents can show their support for Meals on Wheels and their volunteers at the March for Meals 5k walk, which will take place Friday, March 27, on Main Street in Lakeport, on Saturday, March 28, in Middletown and at other participating Meals on Wheels establishments throughout Lake County.
Those interested should contact their local Meals on Wheels thrift store or senior center that provides Meals on Wheels for more details:
– Highlands Senior Services Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., Clearlake, telephone 707-994-3051.
– Lakeport Senior Activity Center, 527 Konocti Ave., telephone 707-263-4218, www.lcseniors.com , www.facebook.com/lakeportseniors .
– Live Oak Senior Center, 12502 Foothill Blvd., Clearlake Oaks, telephone 707-998-1950, https://www.facebook.com/LiveOakSeniorCenter .
– Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-8779, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.lucernealpineseniorcenter.com/ , https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lucerne-Senior-Center/1443515852551771 .
– Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St., telephone 707-987-3113,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , http://middletownseniorcenter.org/ , https://www.facebook.com/middletownlakecounty .
Shari Shepard is a correspondent for Lake County News. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .