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Nickelsville Volunteers Serve Weekly 'Meals of Love'

Lisa Watson McCarty
Publisher

The kitchen of the concession stand at Keith Memorial Park was filled with heavenly aromas last week as a group of volunteers diligently worked to prepare meals to deliver to some special people in their community.

Homemade roast beef with gravy, special baked potatoes, green beans, Sister Schubert rolls and pumpkin cake or fruit sounds like a feast fit for a king or queen. In this case, the meal wasn't prepared for royalty but was made with love.

A group of volunteers in Nickelsville have organized a new ministry called "Meals of Love" to provide 30-plus hot, homemade meals each Wednesday to elderly, disabled and sick people in the Nickelsville area.

The program began as an outreach of the Nickelsville Baptist Church when Gay Smith began talking to others about a service that would help elderly residents with a weekly delivered meal. Since their initial delivery in September 2007 of 25 meals, the organization has grown to serve up to 37 residents along with lots of volunteer assistance.

"I thought there were people in our community, elderly, sick or disabled, who might really need a home-cooked meal," Smith said. "I started talking to community members and really the whole idea has grown by word-of-mouth. We currently serve about 35 per week and have a growing waiting list."

Smith, who serves as president of the organization, contacted Betty Salyer, who began asking around to see who was interested in helping. Local businesses agreed to donate some of the food items and a local caterer prepares the main dish each week.

The side dishes are made in the concession stand at Keith Memorial Park, which has been inspected and certified by the Virginia Department of Health. Each week a varied number of volunteers begin cooking vegetables, preparing salads, breads and desserts at the park around 9 a.m.

A bit later around 11:15 a.m., more volunteers show up to deliver the "Meals of Love" to the 35 or so recipients. Because of the short distances involved, most of the meals are delivered within minutes to the homes along the pre-planned routes.

Now the organization is moving into its next phase as they seek non-profit status under the Internal Revenue Service to become a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. Officers in the program include Smith - president, Salyer - vice-president, secretary Ð Patricia Powers and treasurer - Linda Sikorski. Meals of Love is also governed by a board of directors, which includes Harry Broadwater, Kathy Broadwater, Curtis Laney, Karen Turner, Karianne Counts, Henry Powers and Angela Webb.

Those involved aren't really interested in publicizing their involvement but are happy to help.

"Gay called me after talking about the program at church and I wanted to help," said Karen Turner. "We get as much a blessing in doing this as the people we send our meals to do."

Elizabeth Kilgore joined the group because she wanted to help those in her community.

"I enjoy this greatly," she added.

Salyer said one of the men who delivers the meals each week, provided more than just the meal one week. He noticed something needed to be fixed at one of the homes along his delivery route and he repaired it.

"We would never had known he did that if the resident hadn't called and thanked us for sending him to her," Salyer noted. "We receive a lot of positive comments and I know I actually look forward to this every week."

It has been a bit of learning experience to make sure they prepare enough food each week for the delivery but Smith said they have been very fortunate.

"We could never have gotten this started without God and really we are doing it for him," she stated. "The Lord is all around us."

Once the organization receives its non-profit status, they plan to seek grant funding so they can serve more people. They agreed they would willing to send our more meals each Wednesday if they had more donations.

During holidays, special treats were provided for their recipients. They also sent out Christmas cards and small gifts with the meal served Christmas week.

And their efforts are certainly helping those in need in the Nickelsville. The bulletin board inside the concession stand is covered with small notes and thank you cards. One in particular thanks the group for the weekly meal but also for just remembering them.

With military precision, Smith and her volunteers have packed up the Styrofoam containers of food and labeled them for delivery, making sure those with special meal requests are met. In less than 30 minutes, 37 people have received a wonderful, lovely meal to enjoy from Meals of Love.

As Leo Buscaglia said, "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." The volunteers of Meals of Love obviously understand and appreciate Buscaglia's words and wisdom.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Smith at 479-2021 or Salyer at 479-2426.

 

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