"If it hadn't been for my grandson and Meals on Wheels, I would've went hungry many, many, times," Mary Haney-Goulding said.
Mary is just one of more than 1,300 people who Meals on Wheels delivers to in Lansing. They provide service for people ages 60 and up who have a hard time getting out of the house.
"We have some people who just can't get out to shop,” Carl Buonodono with Meals on Wheels said. “We have some people who just can't physically stand at the stove to cook a meal."
The service provides food, security and conversation for the elderly. But right now the tri-county meals on wheels is running low on volunteers.
"The need is getting greater,” Buonodono said. “We're serving more people and the number of volunteers is just not increasing."
They're 500 volunteers down and they don't have enough people to fill their routes. They say that means there's 72 people who are stuck at home without access to the meals.
"As long as there's a senior not being taken care of,” Ernie St. Pierre, a volunteer said, “It's always desperate."
And the concern isn't just that they'll go hungry.
The volunteers also check in on the clients to make sure they're doing alright.
"Is the house warm enough?” St. Pierre said. “Are they looking ok? Is there some issue they're experiencing? So it goes beyond the meal. We're actually offering the human connection."
The volunteers care about the people they provide for. That's why they're reaching out to the community for help.
"There are a lot of good people in our community so I'm asking please volunteer,” St. Pierre said. “Please be a part of our organization and help us take care of all of our seniors."
If you’re interested in volunteering you can visit www.tcoa.org/volunteer
From there you can fill out an application. Carl Buonodono says it’ll take about 10-15 minutes.
