With Tight Turnaround, County Staff and Volunteers Rally to Deliver 400 Meals

County Staff and Volunteers Rally to Deliver 400 Meals

With the onset of the COVID-19 and Governor Ron DeSantis “Safer at Home” executive order, and a local focus on protecting our at-risk senior population, the Citrus County Meals on Wheels program has kicked into high gear when the need for additional meals became apparent due in part to the temporary closing of the senior dining sites.

With increased demand during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the county added an additional vendor to help provide for the increase in meals.  The normal delivery of meals occurs on Mondays and the new additional vendor would arrive Tuesday, April 14, which gave Meals on Wheels staff less than 24 hours to round up the additional staff from other departments and community volunteers needed.  

Over fifty volunteers and county staff heeded the call and gathered at the Central Citrus Community Center in Lecanto to help get the needed meals to our most vulnerable population.  “Everyone worked together as a team to help receive the boxes of frozen meals, shelf-stable meals, milk, bread, and sort the newly delivered items into 27 delivery routes,” said Support Services Director Joanne Granger. “We couldn’t have pulled this off without the support of our colleagues and community”.

Vehicles were loaded with hundreds of pounds of healthy meals for distribution to 400 seniors throughout the County. Citrus County Transit provided seven Orange Line buses and Volunteer “deliverers” were paired with designated drivers to accomplish the time-sensitive task. 

Departments that offered staff assistance with the effort were; Citrus County Community Services Department, including Support Services, Transit Services, Veterans Services, Housing Services, Parks and Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension and Historical Resources .

Older individuals (60 years of age and older) who are frail, homebound by reason of illness or incapacitating disability, or who are otherwise isolated are eligible to receive home-delivered meals.  With the closing of the senior dining sites, those elders that are now homebound by virtue of self-isolation were given the option of receiving home-delivered meals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Citrus County Meals on Wheels program is providing seniors weekly with a choice of frozen seven packs of breakfasts, lunches, dinners or shelf-stable meals for up to three meals per day for each senior.

Throughout the event staff and volunteers managed to practice social distancing, wearing protective gloves and masks to ensure the safe delivery of meals.