The Greater Randolph Senior Center delivers about 45 meals per day to homebound people 60 and older, as well as adults with disabilities.

By Myla van Lynde, Community News Service

To Richard Skarrow, the Meals on Wheels program is pretty straightforward: People need nutritious food, and volunteers like him deliver it to their homes.

It’s simple, he said, but incredibly important. Along with a hot meal, his clients receive something else: a sense of connection.

“It’s a service for people that need help,” Skarrow said. “People need food, and they need to have companionship.”

On a recent delivery run, Skarrow delivered a meal to an older man whose wife is homebound. The man came outside, eager to talk about the program.

“The frosting on the cake is the friendliness and courtesy of the people who deliver,” the man said. “That’s the plus factor … we look forward to it everyday.”

Patting Skarrow on the back, he added, “Of course, I get to see this guy here.”

Through its Meals on Wheels program, the Greater Randolph Senior Center delivers about 45 meals per day to homebound people 60 and older, as well as adults with disabilities. An additional 80 frozen meals go out for weekends.

“The amount of meals delivered does ebb and flow,” said Emilie Daniel, the center’s executive director.

Daniel said the program could serve more people — if they would just sign up.

“I can’t believe how many people are sitting in their homes and they’re not eating,” she said.

Anyone over 60 years old and homebound is eligible for Meals on Wheels, as are people who are under 60 and disabled. People under 60 and disabled may apply for the program through the Vermont Center for Independent Living (802-229-0501). The Senior Center (6 Hale Street, Randolph, Vt. 05060) serves hot lunch Monday through Thursday. Those who are 60 and older may eat lunch for a suggested donation, guests younger than 60 must pay a small fee. Anyone hoping to receive meals may contact the Greater Randolph Senior Center at 802-728-9324.

Those who sign up for the program receive hot meals Monday through Thursday and can opt into receiving frozen meals for the weekend. The program supplies at least a third of a person’s daily nutritional needs.

More Than Just Food

Nine percent of Vermonters 65 and over say they rarely or never get the social and emotional support they need, according to a 2022 state survey. In Vermont, adults with a disability are five times as likely to report social isolation than those with no disability.

Skarrow began to volunteer for Meals on Wheels because he figured one day, he might need it.

“You don’t need too much training,” he said. “You just have to have a good sense of people.”

Skarrow picks up the meals at the senior center around 10 a.m. every Thursday. The self-employed plumber drives the longest of four routes for the senior center — one and a half hour.

He has the route memorized and only uses navigation when new households are added. He starts in Randolph, goes along the South Randolph Road, then drives to Brookfield.

As he drove up Route 14 recently, Skarrow reflected on how his favorite moments on the job are when people express their gratitude and seem genuinely happy to see him.

“It’s just an enjoyable job, knowing you’re helping out,” he said. “Over the years, I’ve become friends with people.”

Further along the route, one woman came out to accept the meal delivery on behalf of her wife, who is mostly immobile due to complications of systemic lupus.

“You guys, rain or shine, you get here,” she said to Skarrow. “You’ve come out in some really bad weather.”

“We’re like mail-people, basically,” Skarrow added.

She said she doesn’t know what they’d do without these meals.

“I’m such a lousy cook, but they’re great,” she said.

At every residence, Skarrow waited to make sure someone came out to pick up the food.

“We check on people, too. That’s part of the safety net of the whole thing. You’re just checking to see if they’re doing all right,” he said.

He explained that drivers have to physically see the person they’re delivering to, and if nobody comes to the door, they report this to the senior center. If a driver feels that a recipient might be unsafe in their home, they must also report that information.

“That’s the most important part: making sure people are all right,” he said. “I mean, you just can stick your head in, but you can still tell what’s happening.”

“Over the years, you miss a bunch of people that you actually get to know, and they pass away,” Skarrow said. “A friend of mine passed away two or three weeks ago. His wife sent everybody that delivered to him a nice letter. And, as I pass his house, each time, I wave.”

Sure enough, as he passed his late friend’s house, Skarrow sent a small salute through the window.

On the second-to-last stop, a dog came running out to meet the car. Skarrow was prepared for this; he carries treats in his passenger seat.

“See you next week,” Skarrow said, as he closed the house’s door behind him. Indeed he will, for years to come.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the the White River Valley Herald