Rusty Rae/News-Register##Jack Pattishall loads gift bags into his vehicle in preparation for driving his Meals on Wheels delivery route. Pattishall spent 20 years in the Navy and another 20 with the post office in the Boston area before moving to McMinnville to be closer to family.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Meals on Wheels volunteer Terry Conlon loads bags of Christmas extras, such as high-protein snacks, fruit packed in water and other items purchased with a grant from 99 Gal Friends last weeks at the McMinnville Meals on Wheels site. Volunteer drivers delivered them before Christmas to homebound seniors in McMinnville, Lafayette and Dayton.

Meals on Wheels gets grant, needs volunteers

The McMinnville Meals on Wheels site is seeing a growing demand for its delivery service, which provides food to homebound seniors.

It’s also seeing growing support from the community, although organizers are always looking for more volunteer drivers, according to Linda Behrens, who retired from her position as director of the program and now is a volunteer herself.

Michelle Guillory is the new director.

Meals on Wheels this month was able to provide additional food and other items to its clients in McMinnville, Lafayette and Dayton thanks to a donation from 99 GAL Friends. The organization, started earlier this year, gave $2,000 to augment Christmas packages.

The grant was the second distributed by 99 GAL Friends, according to Ginny Upton, a member of the nonprofit in which women donate money, then decide how it will be used to help the community.

Volunteers from 99 GAL Friends helped package up the extra items for Christmas delivery. Behrens said the grant enabled Meals on Wheels to add extra nutritious snacks, such as vegan cheddar chickpeas, packs of chicken or tuna salad with crackers and fruit cups packed in water or light syrup.

Seniors “can’t get enough” of the conveniently packed peaches, pears and applesauce packages, Behrens said.

The Christmas bags also included notecards, facial tissue, lip balm, hand cream and other items, along with a holiday card, she said.

Volunteers added the bags to their regular deliveries last week. They take meals and other food to about 130 homebound people, 60 and older, in the three cities on Monday through Thursday. Another 40 or so people in the Carlton and Yamhill areas receive frozen food.

Behrens said the numbers have increased over the past year. When she was director, there were about 110 clients in the three-city delivery area.

The McMinnville site, based at the McMinnville Cooperative Ministries church, had five delivery routes last year, but now six. Behrens said one volunteer is needed for each route per day, or 24 over the four-day delivery period, but additional volunteers are needed as substitutes or to take over routes when other drivers retire.

Sheridan and Newberg have separate Meals on Wheels sites, so the numbers top 300 in the whole county.

Meals on Wheels customers are often referred by Northwest Senior & Disability Services. Homebound seniors also can refer themselves to the program by calling 503-472-4214; volunteers can call the same number.