Savannah’s Meals on Wheels reach milestone in senior food delivery

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - For thousands of Georgia seniors who live by themselves, getting three meals a day can be challenging.

Meals on Wheels is a program that has been around for 65 years, and Savannah’s Senior Citizens Incorporated just celebrated their 7-millionth meal.

“It’s always been more than a meal for us,” said Patti Lyons, Senior Citizens CEO.

Lyons has helped to bring in volunteers like David Mueller, who says this has given him purpose post-retirement.

“You know I’m not as mobile as I used to be but I can still drive an automobile, I can still carry that lunch up to the door,” said David Mueller, Meals on Wheels volunteer. “I’ve always enjoyed it because you get to know the clients, the recipients of the meal and they’re just wonderful people and my motto is ‘as long as I’m able, I’m gonna help somebody.’”

It isn’t just Mueller getting in on the action, meals on wheels has around 400 weekly volunteers, with over 1,800 daily meals delivered daily.

These deliveries aren’t just for food, but for wellness checks.

“We got to a man’s house and he had fallen during the night,” said Lyons. “We called an ambulance, got him to the hospital and I was there when his sister came in and she said ‘weren’t you afraid?’ And he goes ‘no, I knew they would be coming with my meal, I knew it would be okay.’”

And so something as simple as a bag of food can be life-changing for somebody like Pamela Mott.

Mott was one of the people Wednesday who received the 7-million meal special.

She says a daily meal has meant more than she can express.

Mueller mentioned his experience with home visits, including a special relationship he had with a blind man who he regularly delivered to.

“I’ve actually been in his house many times, and I’ve helped him out with other things,” said Mueller. “I once purchased for him a talking watch so it would tell him what time it was, and occasionally if there was a shortage on a meal and I didn’t catch it, I would run down to Sonic. He loved getting a cheeseburger and fries.”

Even after a pandemic and government shutdown, the program has continued and will look to expand in the future.

WTOC spoke with a recipient of the Meals on Wheels program during the shutdown.

This seven-millionth meal is just a stepping stone according to Lyons, who looks to expand the program to accommodate to the over-400 seniors who are currently on the waiting list.