The weather’s so cold, some local programs that take food to home-bound seniors are calling on all their volunteers to deliver the greatest possible number of home meals, to make sure no elderly clients have to go outside their homes. Operators of the “Meals on Wheels” programs say cold is a particular risk to the elderly who are at risk for hypothermia. In Missouri Valley, Bonnie Shannon was on duty at the Rand Community Senior Center and said it didn’t faze the local folks. They just had the usual number of meals served by the center’s regular volunteer carriers. She says the cold doesn’t bother the elderly clients much, “but of course ice and snow bothers everybody.” Shannon said Friday’s lunch went out to about 40 local seniors who are clients of the Meals on Wheels program. The center sends out 40 to 42 meals every day, and she describes today’s menu including a chicken breast, wheat bun, “cheesy whipped potatoes,” pickled beets, sliced peaches and milk, concluding “We had a good meal.” Omaha Meals on Wheels coordinators were stepping up the number of meals delivered, and homeless shelters throughout the region are making all the room they can for people driven indoors by the deadly cold.
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