Too few wheels to deliver meals

And even if there was enough to feed every hungry person, there would be a dramatic shortage of drivers to deliver the meals. Even now, there isn’t enough help, according to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, or RSVP, of Norfolk County, which recruits people to serve meals in the county’s 28 communities.

The perennial shortage of drivers and funds increases as the need for service climbs.

“We are in danger of letting our neighbors die,’’ said Elizabeth Larkin, the agency’s recruitment coordinator. “If someone knocked on your door and said, ‘Mary Jones is going to die this week unless you bring her some food,’ you’d jump right in the car.’’

But people aren’t jumping. A stumbling economy has forced many volunteers back to work, and the number of drivers is likely to plunge lower as summer goes into full swing.

“People don’t associate hunger with beautiful weather,’’ Larkin said. “But it’s there.’’

Whether it’s warm weather or cold, seniors are suffering, said Michael Flynn, a spokesman for Meals on Wheels of America, based in Alexandria, Va.

Last year, Meals On Wheels of America released the study “Senior Hunger in the United States: Differences Across States and Rural and Urban Areas.’’ Among the findings: Senior hunger rose by 20 percent from 2001 to 2007, the most recent year for which numbers are available. At that time, more than 3 million seniors were at risk of hunger — 200,000 more than in 2006 and 700,000 more than in 2001, according to the study.

While some programs lose supporters in winter when snowbirds fly to Florida, others lose volunteers who can no longer afford the gas to drive meals to the needy, or have taken on paying jobs after the layoff of a spouse, Flynn and others said.

All told, there are some 5,000 local senior nutrition programs in the United States, according to the national organization. They provide well over 1 million meals to seniors daily, whether at home or at congregate meal sites.

Meals on Wheels is publicly funded, but there has been no increase in federal funding since the Reagan administration, Larkin said. Recipients are 60 years or older, or homebound. There are no income guidelines, and the number of meals delivered in a given community per week varies widely, based on population.

In Norfolk County, for example, about 30 meals are delivered daily in Bellingham, compared with Quincy, where 479 seniors and others are fed, Larkin said. Between 70 and 80 meals a day are delivered in Milton between 120 and 130 meals in Randolph.

Eighteen meals a week are delivered in Avon on two days for nine residents, officials said.

Larkin said drivers are critically needed in Quincy, Braintree, Randolph, Norwood, and Dedham.

South Shore Elder Services, another agency helping residents south of Boston, delivers between 1,200 and 1,300 meals a day to people in Braintree, Cohasset, Hingham, Holbrook, Hull, Milton, Norwell, Quincy, Randolph, Scituate, and Weymouth, said Jody Hodgdon, its director of volunteers.

Another 500 seniors are served at congregate meal sites.

Hodgdon oversees 400 volunteers and says she always needs more. For many who are homebound, even those few minutes of contact with a volunteer make a difference in a long day alone, she said.

On a recent Friday morning, Scituate’s Harbor Methodist Church was hopping as agency volunteers prepared for their deliveries.

Joan Powers, a 12-year volunteer, stood ready in the church kitchen awaiting the truck that brought the day’s food. Once the drop-off was made, she and others scurried to pack the insulated bags that drivers take on their routes.

Included were prepacked breakfasts and frozen dinners for those who have no access to food on the weekend.

A senior citizen herself, Powers said an abiding need to live her faith has spurred her to help.

“We serve Jesus when we serve others,’’ she said, cupping the large crucifix that hangs around her neck. “I’m good with seniors, and some days I know I’m the only visitor they get.’’

She and others in the bustling church hall laughed as they discussed common likes and dislikes their clients bring up. On this day, a turkey dinner would make its way to dozens of hungry seniors, a crowd pleaser that is almost as popular as macaroni and cheese, and pudding, they all agreed.

“No one likes chicken on the bone,’’ Powers said.

Site manager Julie Grant, a former volunteer driver, said she so loved her work with the Meals on Wheels program that she signed on full time with the elder services agency two years ago.

“Elderly people have a world of knowledge to share,’’ said Grant. “And when you make a connection, it’s also a great feeling to know you are helping to make their lives a little better.’’

Many public officials try to do their part. Recently, Brockton Mayor Linda Balzotti participated in “Mayors for Meals Day,’’ an annual national campaign facilitated locally by Old Colony Elder Services, which serves elders in Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Kingston, Lakeville, Marshfield, Middleborough, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rockland, Stoughton, Wareham, West Bridgewater, and Whitman.

“We have many seniors in Brockton who are unable to get to the grocery store or to one of our congregate meal sites,’’ Old Colony Elder Services executive director Diana DiGiorgi said. “The Meals On Wheels program is absolutely essential to them, as they would otherwise not get a nutritious daily meal.’’

Like South Shore Elder Services and Health and Social Services Consortium Inc., which serves southern Norfolk County, Old Colony Elder Services is one of 27 private, nonprofit Aging Services Access Points in Massachusetts that supports the dignity and independence of seniors.

Desperate for money, the Old Colony agency is holding its first “Cooking for a Cause’’ fund-raiser this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Middleborough Council on Aging, 588 Plymouth St. The family event includes samples from restaurants throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, entertainment, face painting, and raffles. Sponsors are needed, its organizers say.

“We can’t keep up with the demand of the growing senior population and increasing needs,’’ DiGiorgi said. “Competition for grants is tough, and we needed to find a way to raise the funds necessary to keep the nutrition program running so no senior goes hungry.’’

For more information, go to www.oldcolonyelderservices.org; www.norfolkcounty.org; www.hessco.org; or www.sselder.org.

Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton1@verizon.net.