Volunteers deliver 12,000 meals to Lenawee County homebound in January

Serving meals to homebound residents is a team effort at the Tecumseh Senior Center. Five days a week the drivers for home delivered meals leave the Tecumseh Senior Center with freshly prepared hot meals for homebound residents in Tecumseh, Britton, Clinton and Tipton. In addition to food, the drivers also bring care and concern as part of their mission.“People do look forward to seeing their driver every day,” said Judy Zilke, nutrition director for Lenawee Department on Aging. “That’s their connection to the outside world.”“A lot of times you find you are the only person they see all day,” said Matt Horvath, president of the Tecumseh Senior Center. “They count on you to be there.”For many of the drivers, relationships are built on what started simply as delivering food. Driver Tina Martin recently spent time with one of her clients who had to be hospitalized and rehabilitated at Herrick Manor.Just this week, Martin found one of her clients who had a diabetic reaction lying on the floor of her home. The woman had been on the floor all night, and Martin called to get help for the woman.“Our drivers are the eyes and voice for us,” said Kim Otto, director of the Tecumseh Senior Center.“It’s a daily check-up,” Horvath said. “You can sense when something is wrong.”“We always make sure they are all right,” said driver David Lupone. “The job is more than just delivering food.”Lupone and his friend Bernie Reuter found out the Tecumseh Senior Center needed drivers when at the Hayden-Ford Mill building to exercise.“We realized they needed drivers,” Lupone said. “We call ourselves B&D Delivery. We’re retired and we wanted to help people.”“It’s fighting boredom,” Reuter said.Horvath started delivering meals eight years ago. He learned about home delivered meals while working construction at Orchard Terrace.With some of the more mobile clients, Horvath makes sure to invite them to have their meal at the Tecumseh Senior Center as a way to expand their social lives. Although many of those receiving deliveries cannot get to the center, some have taken Horvath up on his invitation and enjoyed the activities happening daily at the senior center.Drivers can customize their delivery schedules to their individual preferences. Some choose to just fill in as substitutes when regular drivers are not available.“We have a great group of subs,” said Horvath.Tecumseh has six routes and 95 meals delivered every day. Each person has a map of his or her route and delivers between 12 and 21 meals to clients.“Each route is mapped out pretty good,” Reuter said.Drivers can receive $.56 per mile in mileage and a free meal on their delivery days.Head cook Connie Potes leads the kitchen at the Tecumseh Senior Center assisted by Betty Hyatt and Toni Reinke. The three women are responsible for putting together the home delivered meals as well as the meals served at the Tecumseh Senior Center, and they prepare meals for the Onsted Senior Center as well.“I grew up cooking,” Cotes said. “I think it’s just rewarding to help people out.”Zilke, at the Lenawee Department on Aging, prepares the menu for the senior center, but Potes passes along critiques of the menu and meal suggestions by the residents.Although the women working in the kitchen do not see those receiving the delivered meals, they still have a relationship with them. “We get to know them on the phone,” said Potes.She places a weekly order on Tuesday to Gordon Foods for the food needed to prepare the menu, and the menu items are delivered on Thursday. Aunt Millie’s supplies the bread used for the meals, and Custer’s provides all the dairy needs for the Tecumseh Senior Center.Zilke has a three-month rotation for the menus, following state and federal guidelines. She does the hiring for the seven kitchen sites and registers new clients needing home delivery. “We have three head cooks at three of the sites,” Zilke said. “The rest of the centers are satellites. All our senior centers do the home delivered meals and provide meals at the center. We have a super staff. There are 17 cook staff in the kitchens.”According to Zilke, there are many different reasons for people to need home delivered meals. Some only need meals temporarily after surgery, and not all the clients are elderly. Each person must be homebound and not able to fix a meal.Every month Zilke signs up approximately 40 new people for meal delivery. During the month of January there were 12,000 meals delivered in Lenawee County during 21 days of delivery, including weekend and holiday meals, which are delivered frozen for clients to reheat.Home delivered meals have been available in Lenawee County for more than 30 years. The routine runs smoothly with years of practice and all the different people working together.“It is all about timing,” Zilke said. “We know drivers’ time is very important, so we try to have everything ready when they come.”Being a driver requires only a few special qualities. “It takes someone who is caring and compassionate that has an hour to give each day,” said Zilke. “Our seniors are the glue that holds everything together.”“Listen to your heart,” Lupone said. “It’s God’s mission for us to help others.”The Tecumseh Senior Center will need drivers for the month of March. To sign up for a route or to be a substitute driver, call Otto at the Tecumseh Senior Center at 423.5939. To sign up for home delivered meals call Zilke at the Lenawee Department on Aging at 264.5280. The department recommends a donation of $3 for each meal, but payment is not required.