With grocery bills rising and gasoline cracking the once- unthinkable $4 mark at the pump, Denver residents are feeling the economic squeeze.
But so are charities, perhaps none more than Meals on Wheels, where skyrocketing fuel and food costs run head-on into the organization’s mission: delivering food to homebound older folks.
One nettlesome question: At what point will the 280 volunteer drivers in the area feel too pinched to participate?
“Knock on wood, but no one’s quit,” said Jim White, the organization’s director of community affairs. “They all realize the importance of this, but it’s a lot harder to recruit volunteer drivers now.”
Meals on Wheels is run by Volunteers of America, with branches in 44 states. The group delivers 1,800 meals each week to metro Denver homes. Another 1,200 are served at 30 senior centers.
“With the economy the way it is, far more people are eating at our meal sites,” White said. “It’s all they can afford.”
The pinch is trickling down. Contributions to MOW have dropped as charity-minded people tighten their belts. “It’ll probably be even worse in a few months,” White said.
He hopes the volunteers will hang tough — like Kip Hardcastle of Wheat Ridge.
Hardcastle has spent eight years as a Meals on Wheels volunteer. Twice a week, he and his wife, Rhonda, deliver meals in Denver’s Park Hill and Regis neighborhoods. The Park Hill route makes for a 25-mile trip, the Regis one a bit less.
“With gas prices as high as they are, we’ve eliminated a few crosstown trips for fun, but there isn’t any gas price that would stop us from delivering meals,” Hardcastle said.
The two semi-retired teachers find profound satisfaction in their volunteer work.
“It’s an absolute joy,” Hardcastle said. “We’ve made some great older friends.”
Meals on Wheels’ Denver branch has a $3 million annual budget, 75 percent of it underwritten by federal funds. The rest is largely covered by foundations and private donations.
The branch hoped to break even at the end of the July 1 fiscal year. But the spike in operating costs will leave them about $100,000 in the hole — along with expectations that food costs will rise another 8 percent next year.
Dairy and produce have grown especially steep. The cost of a pat of butter has tripled, and bad news from food distributors arrives weekly.
“It’s very scary right now,” White said. “The hardest part is having to put someone 90 years old on our waiting list.”
That list has risen to 300, as older people on fixed incomes look for ways to scrimp. Most pay $2.50 a meal to help cover costs, but no eligible applicant is turned away.
“A waiting list for Meals on Wheels is just unacceptable in America in this day and age,” White said.
He went to work at MOW’s Larimer Street headquarters 29 years ago. The average age of recipients then was 67. Today it is 86. “Most live alone,” White said. “But as long as they see another human every day, they can be independent for a long, long time.”
Judy Reader, 62, started using the service last year. A heart problem confines her to her Lakewood home. “Before I signed up, I’d go two weeks or more without seeing another human being, so it’s more than just the nutrition,” she said.
Volunteers know that.
“This is difficult, but we’re going to get through it,” White said. “This is a very generous community.”
William Porter’s column runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 303-954-1977 or wporter@denverpost.com.
