I had the pleasure of tagging along with Bobby, a home delivered meals volunteer of about 2 years, on his Wednesday meal route this past February. He stood in line at the Generations Ashe Senior Center Kitchen and waited his turn to load his insulated bag to the brim with hot meals.  That day, the kitchen staff was serving a special Valentine’s lunch of ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus, roll and a cookie.  Bobby went above and beyond and supplied a heart cookie as a special valentines treat for his recipients. Once the meals and milk were loaded in his truck, we started his route.  At every stop, I was greeted with a warm smile as each recipient accepted his/her meal with gratitude.  One recipient in particular told me the home delivered meals program was “a blessing” to her. 

Between stops, I was able to speak with Bobby about his experience with the home delivered meals program.  Now retired from a long and successful career with Pepsi Bottling Company, his job required a lot of him leaving little time for volunteer work.  When he retired, he made a commitment to himself to sacrifice one day a week for volunteering in his community.  When I asked him why he chose this program specifically, he talked about the personal touch of the program.  “Someone is stopping in and checking on you 5 days a week.  I hope someone would do that for me if I find myself in the same situation.” 

Between the kind recipients, the passionate volunteers and the hardworking team in the kitchen, the home delivered meals program through Generations Ashe shows the positive impact, lasting connection, and simple joy that a warm meal can provide.

Jessica Mast
Executive Administrative Assistant, Generations Ashe