Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville-Albemarle is finding it difficult to recruit volunteer drivers for its meal delivery service, according to a press release sent out today. The program is trying to keep costs down by splitting delivery routes, but that requires an increase in volunteers.
“Shorter routes are more affordable for our drivers,” says Executive Director Mandy Hoy, “requiring less time and less money—but the ever-increasing number of area residents needing a hot home-delivered meal means we need more drivers to cover those smaller routes.”
However, more volunteers, it seems, aren’t that easy to come by. “This is the worst case scenario,” notes Hoy. “Our clients are vulnerable in the best of times, and a bleak economy puts this already at-risk population further in peril.”
An average weekly in-town delivery route is around five to 10 miles, according to Hoy, and burns up less than a gallon of gas. So, for around the price of a latte you can help provide some folks with a much-needed meal.
Meals on Wheels will hold a press conference on June 17 at 10am to address its shortage of volunteers. You can learn more about the program and volunteering at www.cvillemeals.org.
