SAN ANTONIO – Before the sun came up Wednesday, dozens of workers in the Meals on Wheels kitchen already had dinner on their minds.
They also had it in their sights as they scooped up the ingredients of a hot Thanksgiving meal into containers for delivery.
“Turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, gravy and of course a slice of pie,” said Communications and Marketing Director Ariana Barbour, running down the menu.
The organization regularly delivers meals to local seniors and others who are not able to leave, or have trouble leaving home.
In advance of the holiday, they prepared 4,500 hundred meals with a Thanksgiving theme for delivery Wednesday.
They planned to deliver another 2.200 or so Thursday, the actual holiday.
“This means everything because it’s the holidays,” Barbour said. “It’s the beginning of the holiday season and people are realizing, ‘Ok. I’m not going to be alone.’”
Along with the food, the volunteers bring greetings to clients who otherwise might not get regular visitors.
Barbour said lately, though, Meals on Wheels is doing it all, with what seems like less.
She says inflation has hit hard at the agency.
The costs of food and gas have gone up, while the number of people volunteering their time to help has gone down.
“Everything has impacted us so if everybody is able to dig into their pockets, $7 is approximately what it costs to deliver a meal now,” she said.
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