Heather Latter
It’s been said that “volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”
If that’s the case, Evelyn Metke must have a huge heart.
The 92-year-old Fort Frances resident has been delivering “Meals on Wheels”—a service that brings meals to local seniors and others who aren’t able to cook for themselves—since its inception here more than 45 years ago.
“She’s our ultimate volunteer,” lauded Marg Rousseau, president of the “Meals on Wheels” executive, noting she’s the only charter member left of the group.
“She’s amazing,” Rousseau added. “We commend her for her many years of service.”
Metke noted she hadn’t lived in Fort Frances too long before it got started.
“I went to church and no one would go to the meeting, so I went from our church group,” she recalled, adding she thought it was a very necessary thing in the community.
Metke admitted she didn’t do a lot of delivering when she was working at the dispensary since they were open until 6-6:30 p.m. and that was too late.
“But if I was asked to help, I would,” she stressed.
And she still delivers meals to this day—not as much as she used to, granted, but she takes on two weeks in the spring and two weeks in the fall for the Fort Frances Lions Club.
More often, Metke does the driving while someone else will deliver. But she still win hand out the meals on occasion, just like she did earlier this month.
“I think everyone who gets the meals are so delighted,” she enthused.
Flora Danylchuk, also a long-time volunteer with the Fort Frances Lions Club, indicated it’s a chance for some shut-ins to talk to someone.
“Sometimes you are there for five minutes because you are having a conversation,” she noted.
“You might be the only people they’ve spoken to all day,” echoed Metke, who said she still volunteers her time to the program because she still can.
Danylchuk admitted it can be difficult to carry all the meals, as sometimes there are three to go to one building.
“I can carry two but I can’t carry three,” she remarked. “So if there’s three, I have to go back.”
Both women said they would encourage more people to volunteer.
“It’s very rewarding,” Metke remarked. “People look forward to you coming.”
And Danylchuk noted it doesn’t take a lot of time—only about an hour—with pick-up at 3:45 p.m.
Local “Meals on Wheels” co-ordinator Gaby Hanzuk also would like to see more volunteers step up to the plate—noting she’s seen a bit of a decline recently.
“Twenty years ago, we had 32 service groups in town and now we have approximately 16,” she said, citing a possible reason for the decline.
She also noted a couple of local churches that used to help out don’t anymore, either because they amalgamated with another church or because the congregation is getting smaller and too elderly.
“Lots of service clubs are gone,” Hanzuk reiterated. “They used to be so good but they are no longer running.”
And of the service groups and churches that are left, Hanzuk said many have reduced the number of weeks that they volunteer because they can’t do three or four weeks anymore.
Both Hanzuk and Rousseau are hoping some local business might challenge each other to get involved—something they’ve seen already with two organizations that has proven positive.
Gillons’ Insurance, for instance, volunteers for four weeks during the year while the United Native Friendship Centre here had been taking a couple of weeks each year for the past decade.
“But when they heard that Gillons’ was doing four weeks, they decided they were bumping up to four weeks, as well,” Hanzuk said.
“If they can do four weeks, so can we was the attitude,” she added. “And that really was helpful.”
“We realize that the meals go out at 4 p.m. and lots of people are still working, but they have lots of employees,” noted Rousseau.
“So when there is an abundance of employees, it’s a lot easier to let a couple go a little early.”
Hanzuk has tried to make it as easy as she can for volunteers to deliver, making adjustments such as picking up the meals at the front entrance of Rainycrest, instead of the back.
And they are trying to get carts at the local manors to assist in deliver the meals.
“It is important that we cover all who are in need of meals and that’s not always easy because of the lack of volunteers,” Rousseau admitted.
“There’s times we have to put people on a waiting list,” she noted, adding she’s had phone calls asking why that is happening and it’s because of the lack of volunteers.
“People don’t realize that if we don’t have the volunteers, we’re going to lose the program,” Rousseau stressed.
“And we struggle with it often.”
The “Meals on Wheels” program serves about 25 people, but not everyone receives meals each day.
Hanzuk noted the meals are so big that some of the elderly ladies make them last for two days.
“So some just get meals two days a week and they are good for four days,” she explained.
But meals are available Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
“I try to keep it to 10-12 meals per route each day,” said Hanzuk, though adding if there were more volunteers, they’d be able to offer meals to more people.
“Most of the volunteers I have are in their 80s and moving into their 90s,” she noted.
“Several have been committed to the service for many years and are now seniors themselves,” she added.
“They find it difficult to deliver, especially in the winter.”
“We can’t stress enough how important these people are in our community who step up and make sure our seniors are taken care of,” echoed Rousseau.
“It’s such a good program.
“We want to thank our volunteers and let people know just how long some of them have been helping out for,” she added.
But both Hanzuk and Rousseau would love to get some new, perhaps younger, volunteers helping out.
Responsible high school students are eligible to help out while other youths are welcome to accompany parents or grandparents as they volunteer for the program.
“The seniors just love seeing the kids,” Hanzuk said. “And it’s a good eye-opener for kids, too.”
She specifically is looking for groups willing to commit to at least one week for the year during the school year.
Then in the summer, they are looking for people to help out just once during that two-month span.
“It’s not a full-time commitment,” Hanzuk reasoned. “If you can help out once a year, once a month, it’s appreciated.
“And it’s only about an hour so it’s not that long.”
Meanwhile, other support is provided to “Meals on Wheels” from the Town of Fort Frances, which funds the co-ordinator position.
“We’re probably the only community left that is funded by their local town and they’ve done it since Day 1,” Rousseau said.
“The government recognizes programs like ‘Meals on Wheels’ because we’re trying to help people stay in their homes as long as they can,” she added.
“So that’s mainly what the program is.”
The meals all are cooked at Rainycrest while the local Legion has donated the meal containers from its Poppy Fund.
For more information or to volunteer, call Hanzuk at 274-3764 on Monday to Friday from 8 a.m.-noon.
