Support Meals on Wheels with United Way Concert at Bargeway on July 21st

Editor’s note: The United Way of the Gorge’s annual Auction and Concert at The Bargeway Pub is on July 21. It’s the major fundraiser for Wasco and Sherman counties as they support nonprofits such as Meals on Wheels with donations. Tickets for the Concert and Auction are available online here or at Bargeway on the day of the event. 

These drivers are not just delivering meals. They’re visiting friends. 

Patrick McCracken, 67, and friend Maria today, July 18, during a Meals on Wheels Run.

By Tom Peterson 

The Dalles, Ore., July 18, 2023 - It’s Tuesday morning at 10:48 a.m. at The Mid-Columbia Senior Center.

A group of about 10 volunteers are sitting at tables, holding red insulated delivery bags. 

And the ham and potatoes is being served up as the trays come sliding down the steam table in the nearby kitchen.

Some 160 meals.

For our friends and neighbors. 

It takes a team - Sarah Fletcher and Debbie Bush serve portions of ham and potatoes in the compartmental trays that will be soon delivered to locals through volunteers in The Dalles Meals on Wheels program.

A bespectacled Patrick McCracken and Stacey and Mike Holeman are standing by at the ready.

They’re drivers. 

Drivers of conversation. Drivers of meal delivery. Drivers in helping the folks in our community who are getting older or having health issues.

“It just works for me. I really enjoy it,” Patrick said. He’s been delivering in The Dalles since 2021. He takes route 5 and delivers to about 20 homes on Tuesdays, and he recently chipped in a Monday and Friday delivery to cover for vacations. 

Meals on Wheels is always looking for more drivers. If you are interested or know someone who is, call 541-298-8333.

“I’ve gotten to know these people over the past few years,” Patrick said. “I feel good when I know people have something good to eat that day. We’ve built relationships, we ask each other about our families.”

Stacey and Mike Holeman pack their bags as they prepare for take off on this mornings delivery of Meals on Wheels.

Stacey, a few minutes later, keys in on the same point.

“The value is that they get visitors, and we get to visit with them,” she said underscoring the importance of the link between being social and being happy. 

You can tell by their body language and their tone, Stacey, Mike and Patrick are also benefitting as they roll to the next home.  

These drivers are not just delivering meals. They’re visiting friends. 

On Patrick’s first delivery at an apartment on West 13th Street, Maria answers the door and gladly accepts the food he has brought.

She said it was one of the highlights of her day and thanked McCracken for checking in on her and bringing meals.

Patrick has 20 more meals to deliver. It’s just 11:20 a.m.

Earlier, Patrick said he started volunteering with the program in Idaho Falls in 2019, and when he moved to The Dalles he picked it back up.

He liked it that much. 

He said he looked up to other volunteers including Jill Durrow and her high school classmates, Ann, Len, and Kim who have worked diligently for years delivering meals.

Drivers are sometimes the first to also discover someone in failing health or having major changes that need to be addressed. In a sense, they are the eyes and ears, helping people who may not always be able to help themselves. 

Carla Mather and Patrick McCracken share a moment with a lowly reporter after Patrick delivered a meal. Mather had back surgery several years ago and the meals delivered to her home have very much simplified her life. She praised Patrick and the other friendly drivers who make up Meals on Wheels.

At Patrick’s next delivery, Carla Mather says she’s got low energy this day and is not feeling her best. But she invites us in. 

“I started Meals after back surgery,” she confided, noting friends Brian and Sue Kotter helped her out after the procedure. “It’s been awesome. The people are friendly and smiling and say hi. It's a great community service to older people or people like me with disabilities.”

“We like to talk to each other,” Patrick said. 

“It’s been a good rapport,” Carla added. 

“I look forward to it too,” Patrick said. “I’m a quiet person, usually.”

Isn’t it funny how it its easier to do things when you are doing them for someone else? Takes all the pressure off. It’s an interesting form of freedom.

So, here’s the pitch, Freedom Fighter! 

Help keep Meals on Wheels rolling by attending the United Way of the Columbia Gorge Concert and Auction at the Bargeway Pub on July 21. Get your tickets here. Money raised at the event goes toward helping 27 non-profit groups in need of funding in Hood River, Klickitat, Sherman, Skamania & Wasco Counties. 

Meals on Wheels falls into the Basic Human Needs category but United Way also funds nonprofits that keep youth on track and keeps people safe from violence and abuse.

Want to know more about the Concert and Auction? Click here. Auction Items.