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Portrait
of a
Meals-on-Wheels Program
 o
one seems to know what the letters stand for, but WEME Mainstream
Nutrition and Health Center is a good example of one of the city's
meals-on-wheels programs. The center receives funding from the city
and the nonprofit Citymeals-on-Wheels. The organization, which is
sponsored by St. Matthew’s & St. Timothy’s Church, is located
in the church's social hall on West 86th Street and West
End Avenue. WEME's clientele reside on the Upper West Side.
Meals
for the frail and homebound elderly are prepared and packaged at
the center every day but Saturday. (Many of the meal deliverers
are Seventh Day Adventists and therefore like to have Saturdays
off.)
The
following photos, taken on a recent Sunday, illustrate the process
by which meals are prepared and delivered.
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Lionell
Arrindell, a professional chef and caterer, has earned extra
money by working as a Sunday chef for WEME since 1986. He
arrives at the center at 6:00 a.m. to start cooking for 450
people.
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While
Arrindell oversees several boiling cauldrons of beef stew, another
WEME employee can be seen sweeping the floor in the background.
Later, they will dish out the stew and the rest of the day's
fare. |
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Michel
Lamothe, a WEME worker who draws his paycheck and benefits from
the city, assembles a "cold pack" with a half pint of milk,
a tiny tub of chunky applesauce, a small cup of juice and a
slice of white bread. Lamothe packs and delivers meals six days
a week for several hours per day. |
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Hired
drivers like Lamothe take insulated bags filled with cold packs
on their routes. Volunteers who deliver the meals by foot also
carry these bags. |
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After
the cold packs are ready to go, the hot meals need to be packed.
Lamothe is one of several people on hand to package portions
of stew, steamed broccoli florets, and instant mashed potatoes
made with hot water. |
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Charged
with the task of delivering about 85 meals a day, Lamothe begins
his route with deliveries on 59th Street, the southern
boundary of his charted area. In about two hours, he will maneuver
the center's green Oldsmobile van up to 70th Street
before heading back to the center. |
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A
driver for the program for almost 10 years, Lamothe is familiar
with many of the people he encounters daily. "I love this job,"
he says. "I feel I’m good when I give food to the people. In
this city, it’s good for the poor." |
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