Debra Prishmont and Donna Abbott stood in the parking lot at the Canaan M.B. Church on Bell Avenue in Columbus one day in late March, waiting for the truck that would deliver their allotment of the meals they would then distribute among their “sweeties” — elderly and disabled residents enrolled in the local Meals on Wheels Program.
The program, administered through the Area Agency for the Aging, operates through the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District.
On this day, Prishmont delivered five fully-cooked frozen meals to 26 people while Abbott made 13 visits. Between them, that’s 194 of the 1,500 meals the local agency deliver each day over a seven-county area — Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay, Noxubee, Winston, Webster and Choctaw.
Nationwide, there are 5,000 Meals on Wheels programs, serving 2.4 million people and 220 million meals annually.
Funding questions hover over program
Unlike many assistance programs, Meals of Wheels has operated quietly since its founding in 1974. That changed recently, when President Donald Trump released his preliminary budget, showing deep cuts to social service programs, including many of which are used to fund the more than 5,000 Meals on Wheels programs in the U.S.
In Mississippi, about 50 percent of the funds used to serve 16,274 people almost 2.5 million meals last year, came from federal funds, said Bobby Gann, Area Director for the Agency on Aging at GTPPD.
“It’s combination of funding sources,” Gann said. “About half is funded through the Older Americans Act. Other meals are paid for through Medicaid, through the waiver program, for people who qualify. We also get some state funding, often to match federal funds, along with some local funding and private donations.”
Gann said the cost of each meal is $4.05. His program will deliver 1,500 meals on 260 days, which means the annual cost comes to slightly more than $1.5 million.
Gann said cuts from any funding source will mean someone isn’t going to get meals.
“We’d have to determine who had the greatest need, the people with no family or friends to help out, and take care of them first,” Gann said. “But everybody we deliver to needs it. It would be awful hard to tell them, ‘Look, we just can’t help you anymore.'”
Gann said there are additional 461 qualified applicants on the waiting list for the program.
‘Honeys’ and ‘Sweeties’
Even before they leave the church parking lot to begin their routes, it is easy to see that Prishmont and Abbott are perfectly suited for the job. Their language is full of “honey,” “sweetie,” “lemme hug your neck” and “The Good Lord is watching over you.”
For those who rely on the Meals on Wheel program, the food is important — for many, essential — but the warmth that accompanies the visits seems almost as meaningful. Old eyes light up when Prishmont and Abbott arrive.
“When I get there, I can never stay long, five minutes, maybe,” Prishmont said. “Those five minutes are precious. We’ll talk for a little bit and just visit. For some of them, it’s the only company they’ll have.”
The warmth travels in both directions.
“I’ve been doing this for about eight years now and I’m so attached to them,” Prishmont said. “They are my rays of sunshine. Over the years, you’ll lose some of them, you know. When that happens, you squall and cry, and then you’ll get a new angel who needs you, and so you just go right on along.”
Prishmont’s first stop Thursday was Jimmy Jackson’s home in east Columbus.
“I’ve been getting Meals on Wheels for what, two months, maybe?” he said. “I sure do appreciate it. It makes it easy. All you have to do is put ’em in the microwave.”
Jackson, 63, is a former truck driver who has been disabled for 21 years.
“I sure wish I could go back to work,” he said. “But I can barely walk across the street nowadays.”
Ralph Burgholzer, 81, is a Korean War veteran, one of the half-million veterans in the U.S. who receive Meals on Wheels aid.
“To me, they’re terrific,” he said. “They’re a big, big help. Could I get by without them? Sure, but I’m glad I have them.”
Prishmont isn’t so sure how well Burgholzer would fare without the meals, though.
After the visit, she said Burgholzer was desperately thin when she first started delivering to him six months ago.
“Skin and bones,” she said. “I bet he’s gained 10, 15 pounds.”
Burgholzer assessment of his situation is common among those Prishmont visits. Each of Prishmont’s “sweeties,” no matter how little they appear to have, make a point to say there are others who need the help more than they do.
“I can get out and get food if I had to,” said Gerald Cole, 58, who has cerebral palsy and broke his back last year after a fall. “But some people, like the lady next door, she can’t get out. Without Meals on Wheels, if you can’t get out, you can’t eat.”
At 92, Kathleen Colbert is the oldest of the 100 or so people Prishmont delivers meals to each week.
“I can live without them (the meals),” she said. “I don’t want to be greedy. But they do really come in handy to old folks. I’m OK as long as I’ve got God on my side and this one here (as she reaches out to Prishmont and pats her on the arm). She’s Christian to the bone.”
“Eat or get your medicine?”
Prishmont’s “sweeties” have heard the talk about possible cuts to Meals on Wheels and they are disturbed by it.
“There are a lot of people that are going to have to choose between getting medicine or buying food,” Cole said. “That’s what it boils down to. What are you going to do? Eat or get your medicine?”
Burgholzer said it’s pretty simple.
“You gotta eat to survive,” he said. “Some people, they just got to have these meals.”
Abbott, who like Prishmont has come to consider the people she delivers meals to as family, isn’t shy about her opinion on the subject.
“If they cut the budget for this, excuse my language, but I might be so pissed off that I might just go to Washington myself and tell them to come with me and meet the people I see every day,” she said. “Go look in their houses and see what’s in their refrigerators. A lot of them, all they have is a plastic gallon of water, a stick of butter and maybe a piece of bread or two left over from what we’ve delivered the week before. It breaks your heart.”
There are other forms of hunger, too.
Each Thursday morning, Burgholzer follows a routine.
“I get dressed, and come sit right here in this chair,” he said. “From here, I can see out the window and watch for (Prishmont) to drive up. I’m always happy to see her. Makes my day.”
Meals on Wheels statistics
■ Elderly population of Mississippi: 18%
■ Elderly Mississippians who face hunger issues: 24.3%
■ Elderly Mississippians who face isolation/live alone: 25.5%
■ Elderly Mississippians who are at or near poverty level: 40.9%
Source: Meals on Wheels America
■ To learn more about the Golden Triangle Area Meals on Wheels program, make a donation or volunteer, call (662) 323-2636.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Related Photos
Donna Abbott gets meals from John Crowely to deliver to her list of residents at Canaan Church in Columbus on March 23. Photo by: Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff
From left, Gerald Cole, Jimmy Jackson and Ralph Burgholzer all receive food from Meals on Wheels. Photo by: Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff
