By-Line: Julie Murphy, Flagler County Government
Flagler County Senior Services is looking for a few good men and women volunteers to assist with the FarmShare Commodity Supplemental Food Program and Meals on Wheels.
“We have needs in these two areas,” said Senior Services Case Manager Ivey Rodriguez. “We are looking for both substitute and permanent Meals on Wheels drivers for Tuesday mornings, and people to deliver the food for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program on the third Friday of every month.”
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program has grown to about 100 deliveries per month – about one ton of food products.
“The food arrives ready for delivery, so there are same-day deliveries throughout the county,” said Health and Human Services Director Joseph Hegedus. “There is a great need for these services. We interview and qualify seniors’ eligibility based on income and family size, and maintain a fluid waitlist so we can meet needs immediately when a vacancy occurs.”
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program is among the programs that strive to meet seniors’ nutritional needs. The Board of County Commissioners in 2017 agreed to provide a food delivery once a month to eligible Flagler County seniors.
Individual deliveries include the following: canned or bottled fruits and juices; canned vegetables; instant and ultra-pasteurized milk; canned meat, poultry, and fish; plant-based protein; two boxes of cereal; pasta and rice; and cheese.
The Meals on Wheels program addresses the nutritional needs of homebound seniors. Five individual meals are delivered once a week. There is a four-week menu cycle, and all meals are diabetic-friendly with a low salt content.
“For home-delivered meals, everything starts with a request from the senior in need – or a friend, a church member, a doctor, a family,” Rodriguez said. “Eligibility is relatively broad.”
It includes:
- Homebound due to illness, disability, or isolation
- Recipient’s spouse, regardless of age, if the provision of the collateral meal supports maintaining the person at home
- Individuals with disabilities, regardless of age, who reside at home with eligible individuals and are dependent on them for care
- People at nutritional risk who have physical, emotional, or behavioral conditions that would make their presence at the congregate site inappropriate
- People at nutritional risk who are socially or otherwise isolated and unable to attend a congregate nutrition site
“The success of this program rests with dedicated volunteers,” Hegedus said. “There are no fees for this service, but recipients are provided the opportunity to support the program by way of donation.”
Those interested in volunteering should know:
- Must use their vehicle/gas when delivering, ensuring vehicle maintenance and operability.
- Must be able to lift, carry, and bend/stoop to deliver food boxes (commodity boxes can be 15-20 pounds, and Meals on Wheels boxes are roughly 10 pounds).
- Longer-term commitment – not one-time volunteers or even a couple of weeks, because of required background checks and associated costs.
- Must successfully pass a “Level 2” background check that will be conducted by Flagler County Human Resources.
Here is a link to the volunteer application. The form allows interested individuals to select a variety of volunteer opportunities, but Senior Services is specifically looking for Meals on Wheels and Commodity delivery volunteers.
Meals on Wheels is a weekly, two-hour, Tuesday morning commitment from roughly 8 to 10 a.m. Commodity is monthly from roughly 10 a.m. to noon on the third Friday.
For more information about becoming a volunteer, or for specifics about eligibility, call 386-586-2324, extension 3626.
