Thanksgiving meal deliveries to homebound seniors are going to look a little different this year. Because of the ongoing pandemic, Meals on Wheels People will not be delivering meals on Thanksgiving Day. All homebound seniors who request a holiday meal will receive one earlier in the week along with their regular weekly meal delivery. But we want to ensure that no senior will be lonely on Thanksgiving Day, so we are recruiting 500 volunteers to make calls to homebound elderly on Thanksgiving as part of our Friendly Chats program.

Meals on Wheels People launched the Friendly Chats program in the spring. To ensure the safety of both volunteers and homebound participants, we moved to a once-a-week, no-contact delivery model. While this was more efficient, it also reduced the face-to-face contact so important to reduce social isolation among the elderly. We recruited more than 1,000 individuals to make calls to homebound participants once or twice a week just to chat. Thousands of homebound elderly have registered for the program and it has proven to extremely popular.

In addition to Thanksgiving Day Friendly Chatters, Meals on Wheels People is recruiting bi-lingual volunteers who would like to become regular Friendly Chatters. In addition to Spanish, Russian and Mandarin Chinese, volunteers who speak Vietnamese, Hmong, Farsi and other languages are encouraged to apply. To volunteer, go to mowp.org/volunteer.

About Meals on Wheels People: Meals on Wheels People has been changing lives, one meal at a time, since 1970. We provide more than a meal to thousands of older adults in the greater Portland metro area. Our service not only alleviates hunger and social isolation, but allows seniors to live independently with dignity in their own homes. Aging in place reduces depression, falls and hospitalization as well as the high cost of institutional care. For more information, visit: mowp.org.