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-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information A day in the life of Elder Services nutrition program
By Roger Suters
Many people are aware that Meals on Wheels is Elder Services mainstay program helping elders to keep their independence and dignity, remain in their own homes and neighborhoods, and enjoy a lifeline of human connection. Most people are surprised when they learn the breadth and scope of the production process that begins early each workday with staff and volunteers who prepare, pack, deliver, and serve 1,000 meals each weekday. This past year their efforts resulted in 262,845 meals served. The story of a typical "day in the life" of this vital service begins at 5:30 a.m.
The day begins.
5:30 a.m. As dawn arrives each weekday, the Elder Services Lanesboro kitchen opens its doors and begins its day. Shortly after the lights are clicked on, three stockpots, one 40 gallon and two 60 gallon, are fired up to begin the day's preparation of one of the most favorite meals served on the Meals on Wheels menu, macaroni and cheese.
6:00 a.m. In the smaller stockpot, 25 gallons of whole milk, 120 pounds of American cheese, 3 gallons of heavy cream, and seasonings are being brought to a slow simmer and thickened slightly. In the adjacent 40 gallon stockpot, water is readied for boiling. Eighty pounds of enriched elbow macaroni is added when the water reaches boiling.
6:30 a.m. When the macaroni is cooked enough to retain a firm texture it is removed and cooled to room temperature in four-inch deep stainless steel pans. At the same time, the preparation of two side dishes, stewed tomatoes and sliced carrots, begins.
7:30 a.m. Fifty gallons of diced and unseasoned tomatoes are added to a sixty-gallon stockpot where they are heated and seasoned. Two hundred pounds of sliced carrots from a local farm are added to the other large stockpot where they are seasoned and brought to a boil. As they near completion, the stewed tomatoes and sliced carrots are ladled into large pans and placed in a warming oven. Concurrently, a production team begins to place 1,051 containers of milk (2% or fat free), individual slices of rye mint chocolate pudding) into individual paper bags for home delivery or into cartons for delivery to meal sites. They are placed in the refrigerator to maintain proper temperature until shipped along with the hot meal.
8:30 a.m. For the 227 meals that will be served in 14 meal sites throughout the county, the al dente macaroni is portioned and placed in four-inch deep serving pans. The cheese and cream mixture is added to the macaroni and then topped with cheese and breadcrumbs. The pans are placed in ovens to brown the topping prior to transport to the meal sites. For the remaining 824 meals to be delivered to homebound elders, the macaroni is mixed with the cheese sauce.
9:00 a.m. The computers are up and running with information critical to scheduling and providing updated delivery instructions for each of the 36 Meals on Wheels drivers who will depart later in the morning. At all three locations that serve as distribution centers for Meals on Wheels, printers begin producing individual route sheets containing up to date information including meal selection (regular or modified) for those who are expected to receive a noontime meal that day. The Spitzer Senior Center in North Adams, serving the Northern Berkshires, supports 10 drivers delivering 249 meals; the kitchen in Lanesboro is the starting point for fifteen drivers who deliver 420 meals throughout Central Berkshire; and, Berkshire South Regional Community Center in Great Barrington is the home base for eight drivers delivering 155 meals in the southern part of the county.
Transport arrives
Also around 9:00 a.m., the automated packaging and sealing machine in the Lanesboro kitchen is set up and readied for action. Hot food trays are placed in steam tables next to the machine. Each individual meal tray is filled with measured portions of macaroni and cheese, followed by stewed tomatoes and sliced carrots. Volunteers and kitchen staff guide this process as each container stops momentarily for the mechanism holding the thin, transparent Mylar film to be brought down and then sealed and trimmed ready for its journey. Sealed containers are immediately placed in "hot boxes" to maintain proper temperature until the final destination.
9:30 a.m. The first transport driver leaves the kitchen for Great Barrington. In addition to bringing hot boxes containing individual home delivered meals to Berkshire South, the driver also delivers the same meals in bulk form (hot serving pans) to senior meal site locations in Lee, Lenox, Stockbridge, and Great Barrington. Soon a second transport driver departs for the North Adams packing site, after which he will deliver meals to lunch sites at Adams, Cheshire, Lanesboro, and Williamstown. Finally, two Meals on Wheels drivers prepare for home deliveries as well as transporting bulk food to senior meal sites in Pittsfield, Dalton, Hinsdale, and Becket as well as the supportive housing program at Providence Court.
10:00 a.m. The program is in high gear, with Meals on Wheels drivers arriving at the distribution sites in North Adams, Lanesboro, and Great Barrington, and senior meal site staff and volunteers setting tables with placemats, plates and utensils. Each site has a unique character in terms of décor, concurrent activities, and special items for their clientele. Steam tables are readied to accept the bulk food upon arrival. More than 200 meals will be served at 14 meal sites throughout the county.
10:30 a.m. Distribution site staff, volunteers, and Meals on Wheels drivers work together to assemble the correct number of meals and accoutrements for their day's route. As warming bags (for the hot meals) and coolers (for the milk, butter, bread, and dessert) are filled, drivers begin the process of loading their cars. Meanwhile, back at the kitchen, the day's production process is complete. The remaining home delivered meals are assembled by Meals on Wheels drivers.
Mealsite and Meals on Wheels deliveries begin
11:00 a.m. Drivers begin to deliver more than 800 meals to homebound elders throughout the county. In addition to delivering meals, Meals on Wheels drivers also provide a wellness check. The elders interaction with the driver may be the only face-to-face contact they may have that day.
Kitchen staff now focuses on preparing future meals, accepting delivery of incoming bulk and commodity food items, dairy products and paper goods, and storing these items in inventory. Phone reservations from the meal sites are received in order to prepare the expected number of meals for the next day's participants. The final hour is spent thoroughly cleaning all cooking and packing appliances, equipment, and the facility.
Kitchen winds down
1:00 p.m. and beyond. The kitchen closes its doors at 1:30 p.m. after completing another day preparing the largest, single serving menu in Berkshire County.
While Elder Services Nutrition Services Department, located at 66 Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield is physically separated from the Lanesboro kitchen by four and a half miles, the two departments work closely together. A Meals on Wheels hotline is located at Elder Services (800-981-5201.) The toll free number is often used by clients to put a hold on meals if, for example, they are planning to be away visiting family members.
If a driver observes that something is amiss or has changed with the person they have come to know so well, the driver immediately reports it by calling this "hotline number." The department's staff will make the proper referral up to, and including, a response process starting with individual emergency contacts and sometimes ending with the dispatch of a 911 call to the local authorities.
Elder Services nutrition program staff at 66 Wendell Avenue works until 4 p.m. answering phone calls, accepting Meals on Wheels emergency referrals from the Elder Services Information & Referral Program, and entering changes into the computer for the next day's deliveries.
Thus, a "Day in the Life" of the nutrition program at Elder Services comes to a close with over 1,000 meals served. To all who are involved in this tremendous achievement each and every day, we offer our appreciation for a job well done!
Roger Suters is Elder Services' Director of Community Services and oversees the agency's Area Agency on Aging programs.