The Twin Cities Meals on Wheels program delivers more than 1 million meals each year. They hired me to help highlight their important work via stories of their clientele, staff, and volunteers. I captured stories not only from seniors, but from others who are at home and need the extra help, such as the developmentally disabled and chronically ill. By doing so, we were able to demonstrate how Meals on Wheels provides both nourishment and social connection.
“We are so happy with all of the stories you captured and how fun and easy it was to work with you. The way that you listened to each client and pulled out the heart of each story was key to the success of this project. HOM’s storytelling helped us connect with a new generation of volunteers, as well as family and professional caregivers. We were able to reach over 100,000 people during the campaign and created a next level of engagement with our community supporters.”
Lauren Edstrom, Marketing Director, Metro Meals on Wheels
Examples from this project:
Lillian, meal recipient
“I was born in 1939. I grew up in a small town. Tutwiler, Mississippi. Down there the white people controlled the black people. We couldn’t do no more than they told us to. If they wanted to, they would whip us. We just had to live there and work for two dollars a day picking cotton. There were things that happened that I really don’t want to talk about. But I don’t have any anger or animosity in my heart.
The only time us kids went to school was when it rained and the cotton was too wet to chop or pick. We didn’t have a school at the time, so we went to a church. Later on they built a school down there, but the white kids had to be on one side and the black kids on the other.
I had to run away. When I was nineteen years old my uncle came down to visit and I came back to St. Paul, Minnesota with him. The only thing I knew was cleaning people’s houses or cleaning up rooms in hospitals. I used to work at a Jewish nursing home off Snelling.
Eventually I went back to school. They have a school over here on Lexington and University, the Hubbs Center, for when people drop out of school and want to go back to finish. I went there and got my high school diploma. When I graduated I was sixty-one. I had an opportunity, so I went back. It felt wonderful.
I’ve been getting Meals on Wheels for about three years. That’s probably the best call I ever made. The food is good and everyone is just so wonderful. I just love seeing them ‘cause sometimes they’re the only one I see during the day. I always have to hug them. Oh my God, I’m so blessed with wonderful people.
It’s not hard to love everyone. Loving is concern about others. That’s what God wants us to do, love one another.”
Bjorn & Anne-Lise,
meal recipients
HOM: “What was it like for you coming here from Norway?”
Anne-Lise: “Not very good (laughs). I couldn’t speak any English. None of us could. So it was a hard time to start with. But we met people who spoke Norwegian and we found out the Norwegian groups. We went to the Norwegian church. It took a long time before I learned English because I always spoke Norwegian, even to the kids.”
Bjorn: “We came in 1959. We just wanted to have it a little better. I’m a house painter, so it was easy for me to get work. Came here one day and started work the next. He’s taken over now.”
Tom (son, not pictured): “I’m third generation, he took over from his father in Norway.”
HOM: “What does it mean to you that your parents receive Meals on Wheels?”
Tom: “I feel better because I know they’re eating. They’re getting food. I didn’t really have to worry because Mom is one heck of a cook. But now at least she doesn’t have to make meals all the time. So three times a week I feel better knowing that they are getting that for sure. “
Bjorn: “Everything is hunky-dory. They come to the door and ask me if I need anything and all kinds of questions about what I feel like. And that’s good.”
Anne-Lise: “It’s kinda nice to get somebody else to make my meals once in a while. So I enjoy that. It’s easier for me that way.”
Bjorn: “She’s the best cook in the world anyway.”
Mo, volunteer
“I made the jump into freelancing full-time about three years ago and one of the things that comes with that are pockets of free time. So I signed up to deliver Meals on Wheels one hour every other Thursday. They’re always super flexible and they cover me when I can’t do it. Every other week the same route, so I get to know all the people.
There’s one guy who doesn’t speak a word of English. In my head I call him ‘Mr. Twinkles’ because he’s so sparkly. He opens the door and sees me and he just lights up. He takes my hands and we have a whole conversation. I respond in English to what I imagine he might be saying and he responds in Bosnian to what he thinks I’m saying and we’ll have a three-minute back-and-forth. He’s always got a piece of candy for me that’s still a little warm from his pocket. I always look forward to it.
With everything online, the way we communicate with each other is often so digital and removed. We know each other through profile pictures and comments. So I think we need to take advantage of these opportunities to connect with other human beings. Yes, you’re giving them something. But it’s also such a beautiful thing to give to yourself.
It’s a very brief interaction, but you’re connecting with them. You’re looking in their eyes. You’re touching their hands. For some of them, that might be the only interaction they get all day. You get to come to them and interact for a moment and bring them food. It’s such a clear and direct way to care for someone.
I get so into my own head. I’m working on this or writing that. But every other week for an hour, my only task is to connect with a few people and hand them food. I’m so glad I do it.”
Russell and Evelyn,
meal recipients
Evelyn: “I was really ill with bipolar disorder and back pain. I was a little bit confused and very depressed. I couldn’t manage my meals very well. So MHR, Inc. referred me to Meals on Wheels and they have been a really good help for me.”
Russell: “I’ve got a whole host of health problems and sometimes I can’t do much. So Evelyn told me about it and I contacted my caseworker and got involved with Meals on Wheels. It takes off a big burden because it’s the dishes and all the other stuff that needs to be done when you cook. So it really does help me in a major way.
And the volunteers are people that live in your community who are trying to make a difference. These are your friends and neighbors. They come and check on you. It’s good to see them and they’re genuinely concerned and just the nicest people. So that’s a big part of it. It’s not just the meal, it’s the people.”
E: “Russell and I met through a friend of ours. We became friends and he moved to this apartment building. We got really close and it’s been a nice relationship.”
R: “They had a vacancy across the hallway. It’s great. She’s got her space and I’ve got mine.”
E: “He’s a very good man. He’s very loving and caring and he worries a lot. If I’m gone somewhere, he’s already calling me saying, ‘Where are you?’ I like that about him. The only thing is when we started dating he said, ‘We’ll get married in a year.’ And it’s been thirteen.”
R: “Evelyn is always on my side. She’s loyal and she tries to make sure I’m okay. She helps me do what she can do, but both of us put together probably make half a person (laughs). But we do the best we can. We get along well. She’s always there for me. Unconditionally.
Most people think of the elderly when you say Meals on Wheels. That’s a misconception. They don’t realize that it could be for cancer patients. It could also be for the disabled. They’re not aware of the scope of what Meals on Wheels does.”