David Nainggolan, left, a delivery driver for Sacramento County's Meals on Wheels program, brings a meal to Marcene Scribner. • See additional images Sacramento Bee/Jay Mather

Meals on Wheels struggles to keep pace

By Nancy Weaver Teichert -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, March 10, 2006

Every day, frail, elderly Sacramentans who can't prepare their own food are put on the waiting list because Meals on Wheels can't keep up with the need.

Nearly 600 are waiting because the Meals on Wheels program of Sacramento County's Senior Nutrition Services is maxed out due to the growth in the older population and inadequate funding.

Those who are on or have recently been on the list include four people over the age of 95, another 37 over the age of 90 and another 40 over the age of 85. About one-third fell into the highest priority of advanced age, with two or more chronic health conditions and little family support.

"We absolutely can't keep up with the need," said program manager Janine Brown. "We know we are at our max."

A recent survey by the Meals on Wheels Association of America found that the public doesn't realize frail seniors may not be able to get help.

More than half of those surveyed nationally wrongly assume that the elderly can readily get a home-delivered meal, said association chief Enid Borden. In fact, four in 10 programs nationwide have waiting lists, she said.

Eighty percent of those surveyed cited poverty as the reason older people can't meet their nutritional needs.

Often, it's because seniors can't get to the grocery store, stand long enough to cook, stop their hands from shaking to use the stove or just get out of bed if recovering from a hospitalization or illness.

"If you have a broken hip, it doesn't mean you're poor," Borden said. "If you look at hunger as a disease, but unlike cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and heart disease, we have a cure for this disease. We've got it today. The cure, frankly, is money."

Senior Nutrition Services is run by the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance.

Workers and volunteers deliver 1,440 meals five days a week, but the program is housed in a facility designed to make just 600 meals.

They'll move to a larger building next year.

In the meantime, they've been delivering frozen meals to some on the waiting list, which has grown by 100 in just the last two weeks.

Deanna Lea, executive director for the Area 4 Agency on Aging, said there has been a drop in federal funds just as insurance and gasoline costs for programs that feed the elderly have gone up.

Most meal programs in the seven counties served by the agency have avoided waiting lists, she said, through aggressive fundraising and use of volunteers.

Sacramento's program has raised $40,000 in private donations and relies heavily on contributions from Sacramento County and cities.

Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo will be one of 400 mayors nationwide who will serve meals to the elderly March 22 for the Meals on Wheels association's Mayors for Meals awareness campaign.

In addition to the 595 on the waiting list, Brown said, there are no estimates on how many don't know about the program but need it.

Meals coordinator JoAnn Roth is the one who has to tell the seniors who call to ask for help that they'll have to wait, maybe months, to get served unless their situation is dire.

"It breaks your heart every time, especially when they're really ill," she said. "They can't get out and they have no one."

It's the same in Placer County, where Senior Independent Services is preparing for a capital campaign to raise the money both for a larger kitchen and to buy more groceries.

Jan Wetherell, senior nutrition program manager, said the county's elderly population has grown tenfold, but there have been no budget increases from the Older Americans Act.

"We're busting at the seams and (have) no more additional funding," said Wetherell, whose program serves 250 homebound seniors every weekday. There are 32 on her program's waiting list.

Good nutrition is especially important for seniors with chronic health conditions that can be barriers to preparing their own meals.

Wetherell said seniors who have to move to a nursing home often suffer from malnourishment and dehydration.

In a North Sacramento neighborhood, Melchor Escobar, 86, who uses a wheelchair and can't cook, said he owes his good health to home-delivered meals. His doctor enrolled him.

"It's prepared by someone who knows my nutritional needs," Escobar said in Spanish through a translator. "That's my nourishment."

Anga Rodrigues, 67, suffers from osteoporosis.

Her arm shakes as she holds the door open to take her hot lunch from driver David Nainggolan.

"It's nutritious. It's better than I could stand up and fix," said Rodrigues, who otherwise eats sandwiches or heats soup in the microwave. "It's a godsend."

The volunteer and paid drivers who deliver the hot meals also do welfare checks to see if any clients have fallen, been injured or become dehydrated or incoherent.

"The critical piece of the daily delivery is the safety check," said Brown, who explained nutrition programs are a cost-effective way to keep seniors safely in their own homes. "They probably save a life six times a year."

One morning after a recent heavy rain, Nainggolan knocked on the door of 83-year-old Marcene Scribner, who pulled tightly on her warm bathrobe.

"Good morning. How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm hanging in there," said Scribner, who sends in a voluntary donation to the program. As she moved unsteadily in her house slippers, her feet and ankles swollen, she explained it's often hard to walk.

Scribner enjoys the fresh-cooked meals like the one in her hand - a barbecued pork patty, diced potatoes, ranch beans, citrus salad and wheat bread. It will meet one-third of her daily nutritional requirements.

"Sometimes, I eat it right away," said Scribner, as she bid farewell to the driver. "Goodbye, honey. I'll see you tomorrow."

Senior Nutrition Services can be reached at (916) 874-4701 or online at http://www.mowsacramento.org/.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Nancy Weaver Teichert can be reached at (916) 321-1058 or nteichert@sacbee.com.