Connecting with people is the highlight of volunteering with Age Concern’s Meals on Wheels programme, Dunedin resident Susan More says.
Mrs More began helping out with the meal deliveries more than 40 years ago, delivering up to 15 meals at its peak to residents in the Wakari area during her lunch break.
‘‘It takes about an hour and a-half out of your life . . . once a month.’’
She said the connection with the meal recipients was the best part of the job, offering a friendly, familiar face to people.
‘‘Sometimes you’re the only person they might see in a day.’’
The deliveries also provided a bit of safety for the meal recipients, as all volunteers had to report back to Age Concern if they had not seen the resident and had no notification that they were supposed to be away from home during the meal delivery, she said.
This meant an Age Concern community worker would be able to go around and check on the resident to make sure they were happy and healthy and had not, for example, had a fall and were unable to call for help, she said.
