Volunteers from two local programs work tirelessly to make sure
South Valley’s most frail are healthy and fed
It’s 10am on a Monday, and whether you know it or not, the mission has begun. Volunteers are springing into action, resources are being mobilized and hundreds of people eagerly await the outcome.
Need. Time. Nutrition. Joy. The vision is clear. Drivers, start your engines.
Two South Valley programs – Meals on Wheels in Santa Clara County and Jovenes de Antaño in San Benito County – work to provide the less fortunate with nourishment, both physical and emotional. For many beneficiaries, the care means they’re able to live happily in their own homes.
Five days a week, a dedicated team of Meals on Wheels volunteers climbs into the cars they use to carry out their mission. Each vehicle is emblazoned with a red logo that includes the words “Hot Meals … Warm Hearts.” The volunteers traverse county roads to personally deliver warm food into the hands of south Santa Clara County’s most frail residents.
In San Benito County, those in need also have a place to turn. What began in 1975 as a program delivering 15 meals a day has evolved into Jovenes de Antaño, or “youth of yesteryear” – a full-scale nonprofit run through the Hollister Community Center. Now, Jovenes de Antaño serves about 120 meals a day.
Food for the body
The average beneficiary of Meals on Wheels is 83 years old, homebound or disabled, and very poor – 45 percent of the program’s recipients live on less than $640 a month, according to The Health Trust in San Jose, from which Meals on Wheels in Santa Clara County is operated. The program is funded primarily through private grants and donations. If clients are able, they’ll also contribute a small amount toward their meals.
“Our clients are elderly and frail. Often they are forgetful. In a lot of cases, their kids are out of state or working, and they want someone to check in on them,” said Olympia Williams, manager of Meals on Wheels for Santa Clara County.
By 10:10am, Williams and Meals on Wheels driver Rejino Castaneda are a flurry of efficiency, sorting hot and cold food platters at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy.
“I need a low-fat, a low-sugar and three regular,” Williams calls out after quickly consulting her list. Castaneda promptly obliges.
They have no time to waste. The meals travel in heavily insulated carrying bags, but even so, delivering them hot and on time is a source of pride for the drivers.
“Today it looks like a mushroom-and-rice casserole with broccoli,” Williams said peeking into the steamy contents of the platters. “They have the best food.”
In addition to the hot selection, each meal comes with juice and milk, a salad, a roll, and dessert, all in accordance with the unique dietary needs of each client. By 10:17am, the carrying bags have been whisked out the door to the curb and into the awaiting vehicle.
The first stop is the home of Morgan Hill residents Evan and Glenda Meeker, who have lived in the area for 37 years. The couple recently moved to Jasmine Square, an apartment complex built by South County Housing Corp., a local nonprofit geared toward affordable housing.
Evan suffers from post-polio syndrome, and his wife has to wear orthopedic shoes and is in a wheelchair. Before moving to their current apartment, the couple’s medical expenses were almost too much to handle, Evan said.
“We were almost broke, and we didn’t know what would happen,” he recalled.
A flyer they saw advertising South County Housing was the first of many rays of hope for the Meekers. Two years later, the couple secured their sunny apartment and have been doing well since.
Three brisk knocks on the door and Williams’ voice sings out, “Meals on Wheels!” The door opens, and the meal is duly deposited on the kitchen table.
“Thanks for bringing the meals,” Evan says. “You are in our prayers. We do appreciate you coming.”
Food for the soul
Volunteers, however, aren’t interested only in providing clients with food. They are also there to socialize with recipients and make sure they’re happy, said Pauline Valdivia, executive director of Jovenes de Antaño. In addition to Meals on Wheels, the program offers other services such as transportation and tai-chi classes.
“We try to make this place one-stop shopping for the elderly,” Valdivia said. “Transportation is one of our biggest services. We take them shopping, for medical appointments, out of town … and we stay with them, we don’t just drop them off (and leave).”
Of all the services available, though, nutrition is the cornerstone, she added.
“A meal a day can keep someone out of a nursing home. Meals on Wheels makes sure they stay in-home as long as possible and that they get access to our other services,” she said.
Valdivia doesn’t like to think what would happen if any of Jovenes de Antaño’s programs had to be cut, but she said the challenges the organization faces are real: the rural nature of Hollister, a lack of doctors willing to take Medicare, a severe low-income housing crunch, strains on funding, and baby boomers who are too busy working and taking care of their own children to be fully mindful of their aging parents are among those challenges.
Despite the roadblocks, Valdivia said, providing care for the program’s clients continues.
“People ask me, ‘Do you turn anyone away?'” she said. “No, I don’t turn anyone away. What would I do, put them on a waiting list? They need a meal today, not tomorrow. I tell those people, ‘It’s up to you to provide the money we need.'”
‘Keep on living’
One of the last stops of the day for Meals on Wheels volunteers in Santa Clara County is to Gilroy resident John Pinkerton, who has been a client for three years. The 95-year-old was out for a morning ride in his motorized chair around the garden paths of Monticello Senior Apartments, another South County Housing development, when Meals on Wheels came to call.
Pinkerton worked in San Juan Bautista well into his 90s before the insurance agency of the company he was working for made him retire, as his age made him a liability. A lack of cartilage in Pinkerton’s knees has slowed him down, but he is still in good shape and has high spirits.
“I can move around, I just try to stay off my knees,” he said. “Keep on living and breathing – keep on going.”
Pinkerton’s persistence is a source of strength for him, as are the meals and interaction that Meals on Wheels volunteers provide. And that, Valdivia said, is what the program is all about.
“We help them to live longer by being their support,” she said. “It gives them the courage and the self-esteem to live independently.”
Be a Volunteer
– Job description: Deliver hot meals between 10am and 1pm and/or help at events.
– Frequency: two to three days per month on average
– Commitment: An open-ended six-month commitment is requested.
– Training: 30-minute orientation, one-hour training session, ride-alongs
– Required: California driver’s license and automobile insurance
– Sign up: In Santa Clara County, call (408) 961-9810 or go to www.healthtrust.org/vo-lunteers.
In San Benito County, the Hollister Community Center is located at 300 West St., or call (831) 637-9275.
Services of Jovenes de Antano in Hollister
Nutrition: dining centers, Meals on Wheels, nutrition education and counseling
Transportation to: dining centers, adult day care center, escort shopping, medical and dental appointments
Alzheimer’s Day Care: adult social day care, caregiver support groups, community education
In-home: chore workers, case management
Family Caregiver Support: respite, education, counseling
Elderly education: physical fitness, computer literacy
General Information and Referrals
Jovenes de Antaño is funded primarily through public and private grants and donations.
