Stories

Seniors’ program delivers much more than a meal

When serious complications from a quadruple bypass left Bonnie in a wheelchair and confined to home, every day presented the same difficult choice: order in from a restaurant she couldn’t afford, or not eat at all. All that changed when she learned about a free home food delivery program, co-ordinated by St. Matthew’s House, which helped her get back on her feet. Literally.

Referrals to the food delivery program mostly come from seniors themselves, who are told about the program by the Hamilton Police Services seniors’ support team, the community paramedic program or another food bank. A grant from the Edith H. Turner Foundation makes sure participants receive seven days of food with each delivery. Those with special dietary needs or who have no way to store or cook food are given nutritional products such as liquid meal replacements.

The food, however, is only the beginning.

“Seniors call us because they have an immediate need—hunger. But what makes our program unique is we marry food bank supports with intensive case management,” says interim co-executive director Karen Randell. “We don’t just deliver the box of food and leave. Our program staff are trained to explore what other needs the senior may have. Our ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life for the seniors we work with.”

Visit by visit, the food delivery team is able to develop a rapport and connect the senior to resources, including the St. Matthew’s Senior Centre, which provides weekday meals, weekend care packages, social activities and a medical clinic. “We start with preventing food insecurity and end with improving quality of life,” Karen says.

Which brings us back to Bonnie. Once she started attending the senior centre’s programs, she no longer needed home food delivery. Eventually, she no longer needed her wheelchair or walker. “I’ve come alive coming here,” she says.

Excerpt from 2018 Annual Report