FIFTY years is a long time in anyone’s book, but for Meals on Wheels in Bathurst it’s the celebration of a great milestone.
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Tomorrow, staff and volunteers will come together to celebrate 50 years of giving to the community.
Bathurst Meals on Wheels chairperson Lesley Bull said the service came from humble beginnings and delivered their first meal on November 15, 1964.
“A committee was formed because the hospital board saw a need in the community and approached the Rotary Club president Charlie Hohlhoff,” she said. “He started up Meals on Wheels in Bathurst.
“In the first year they prepared just over 2000 meals, and last financial year just over 200,000 meals across Bathurst and the Central West.”
For many years, Meals on Wheels relied on volunteers who prepared, cooked and delivered meals.
“In the beginning there was no choice of meals. Now we have a wide variety of choice,” she said. “In the 1980s there as a push for a wider range of meals, so frozen food started to be produced.”
Things have grown a lot since then, and the service now employees 17 people and has 202 volunteers servicing 232 clients across the Central West.
Mrs Bull said Meals on Wheels deliveries make a huge difference to so many people across the region.
“Without nutritious meals their health tends to deteriorate. By providing them with nutritious meals, it allows them to stay in their home longer,” she said.
Meals are delivered to a huge variety of people including the aged, frail, those with a disability and their carer and people recovering from surgery or a hospital stay.
Mrs Bull said the regular deliveries also act as a “check up” service for many people who live on their own.
“The fact that someone is visiting them is the crucial part,” she said.
“It enables them to live for a longer period of time, and it allows people to recuperate at home.”
Mrs Bull said Meals on Wheels would not exist if it wasn’t for the dedication of its volunteers, many of whom have given their time to help for decades.
“We couldn’t survive without our volunteers who help with food preparation and deliveries,” she said.
“We’ve got quite a few who have been there for 20, 30 and 40 years.”
While many things have changed at the Meals on Wheels centre in 50 years, some things have remained constant.
“The constant theme has been in the caring and keeping people in their homes and the support from the community,” she said.
