September 4, 2016
Wondai Meals on Wheels volunteer Michelle Smith has been with the service since the very first meeting, held on August 18, 1983.
At that meeting, Michelle was elected treasurer … and she’s been treasurer ever since.
Michelle and thousands of other Meals on Wheels volunteers across Australia celebrated National Meals On Wheels Day last Wednesday.
The Wondai service began with 16 clients, and the meals cost $1.50 each.
The team did their first delivery run on September 12, 1983.
These days the number of clients has only grown slightly – to 21 – but it still requires a keen group of volunteers to keep things running smoothly.
During the past year, Meals on Wheels Wondai has delivered more than 5000 meals to people in need in the Wondai area.
The community-run service would not be possible without the 76 volunteers who assist with meal preparation and delivery.
“Some of them would be older that the clients!” Michelle joked.
The deliverers are on a five-week roster, and include residents from BASS (the Barambah Accommodation Support Services) who go out with a carer on the run.
Michelle said Meals On Wheels provided valuable interaction for many residents who lived by themselves and had few visitors.
“Without us, they could have no one visiting them,” she said.
Wondai Meals On Wheels delivers meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and offers seven meals a week.
The meals are prepared in the kitchen behind the old Wondai Shire Council Chambers and are cooked on the morning of the delivery.
There are 15,000 Meals on Wheels volunteers in Queensland, who deliver two million meals annually to more than 40,000 clients in cities, regional and rural areas.
