SPOKANE, Wash. — Several hundred bags of food and gifts were delivered to Spokane’s senior community on Christmas day.
Meals on Wheels delivers Christmas meals every year, but this year the demand for deliveries doubled. On a normal year volunteers deliver approximately 170 meals on Christmas day, but this year they delivered over 400.
The organization puts together a list of every client that is alone for the holiday. Meals on Wheels director of Development Janet Dixon said the list grew so dramatically, because the pandemic caused more financial hardship for the elderly community.
Plus, travel restrictions made it harder for people to be with their older family members through the holidays.
“Our volunteers are the only person they’re going to see that day. That’s why Christmas and thanksgiving are so important that we make sure that we actually deliver the meals to let them know that they’re not forgotten that they’re still remembered,” Dixon said.
But Christmas day is not the only day Meals on Wheels must plan for. The organization says they need more volunteers and donations to get through next year.
They deliver meals to every client every day, regardless of the holiday season.
“If someone in Spokane county has one and a half to two hours to just donate once a week, once a month, once a year, we don’t care. We just want you to come down,” Dixon said.