Meals on Wheels Looks to the Community for Help

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 September 2015 07:01

Meals on Wheels of Peters Township has been a staple of our community for over 4 decades, helping senior citizens to stay healthy and in their homes with nutritious, home-delivered meals.

Our program started out as a joint project of local churches in the basement of St. David’s church, where we operated for 34 years before moving into our current facility above the Peters Township Fire Department in 2009.

What sets our Meals on Wheels program apart from many others is the high-quality of meals we are able to serve for such a modest fee. Even with rising food costs, we never turn someone away for lack of ability to pay. In addition, we have expanded our concept of community outside of the borders of Peters Township by serving neighboring areas that need us, either because they don’t have their own Meals on Wheels program, or current programs were not meeting all of their needs. We now serve about 200 clients daily in a wide circle of communities around Peters Township, including Canonsburg, Houston, Finleyville, Lawrence, and parts of Eighty-Four, Bridgeville/S. Fayette, Upper St. Clair, and Bethel Park.

We rely on over 200 volunteers throughout the course of a year to contribute their time and talents to prepare, package, and deliver meals to our clients. As the need for meals continues to grow, so does our need for volunteers. Kitchen helpers work from 8:00-10:30 a.m. on weekday mornings to help prepare and package meals. Drivers deliver meals from about 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on one of our twelve routes. At this time, drivers are especially needed on Fridays, but there are opportunities on various days. Volunteers can work once a week, every other week, or as occasional substitutes, on year-around or seasonal schedules. We also need volunteers to bake cookies and desserts at home to donate for our clients’ meals. Financial donations are also appreciated and are used directly for food and supplies for our meals.

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating should call 724-969-1000, email mowpt1@verizon.net, or stop by our kitchen any weekday morning. We are located at 243 E. McMurray Rd., above the Peters Township Fire Department.