Pictured above: Peter Wong | Photo by: Ben Cleeton
Peter Wong has a standing appointment on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. That’s when a North Area Meals on Wheels driver stops by to deliver prepared lunches and dinners.
“They come, they deliver the meals, they sit and we chitchat for a few minutes,” he said. “It’s the highlight of my day.”
Wong, 63, worked for 36 years in the airline industry, most recently in customer service for an airline at Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport. “My work was my life,” he said. In 2014, he fell ill, experiencing the first of five strokes that left him with multiple physical challenges. He now has vision problems, weakness on his left side and balance issues. He wears a brace on his left ankle and uses a cane when he leaves the house.
“I can’t jump out of bed and go to the store and walk around,” he said. “It’s a horrible thing to lose your independence.”
The several changes that come with physical aging can often hinder a senior’s ability to function independently. In addition, many face age-related discrimination and bias, which can lead to feelings of isolation and create barriers to accessing quality healthcare. These challenges may result in seniors receiving lower-quality care or even discourage them from seeking the care they need altogether.
In recent years, Wong divorced, and his adult son and daughter moved away. A gregarious man born in Hong Kong, his isolation and limitations were further exacerbated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was so depressed, I was not eating,” he said. “I was down to one Tupperware of Jell-O a day, sometimes with fruit. I was losing weight and muscle.”
His declining condition alarmed caregivers. They suggested Meals on Wheels, and he became a client in 2021. At first, he struggled to eat the meals daily. But now the deliveries are part of his routine.
“I had literally been by myself for so long,” he said. “But now knowing I have to be ready at 11 o’clock because Meals on Wheels will be here makes a huge difference.”
Meals on Wheels provides nutritious meals to about 500 clients a year in seven zip codes in northern Onondaga County. It operates with 12 paid staffers and upwards of 300 volunteers, who prepare food and drive 25 delivery routes. Meals are prepared to meet each individual clients’ needs; Wong is diabetic, so his food is low in sodium and sugar.
We provided Meals on Wheels with a $66,100 Community Grant to expand and upgrade its North Syracuse facility to add space for meal preparation and distribution.
“The expansion of our facility will greatly improve operational efficiency, reducing energy costs, allowing us to serve even more seniors,” said Randy LaMance, executive director of North Area Meals on Wheels. “We expect to double our client base over the next ten years.”
In addition to delivering nutritious food and well checks, Meals on Wheels provides case management to help with needs such as transportation, nutrition services, mental health counseling, shopping services or home health aides. Wong loves to talk with volunteers about the day’s news headlines, and he looks forward to visits from his caseworker. “Just the physical interaction is huge,” he said.
He also makes a point of letting the Meals on Wheels kitchen staff know when they prepare something he especially likes. Recently that included a chocolate chip brownie muffin and “an incredible breaded pork chop”.
Wong looks forward to the human contact as much as the meals.
“It gives me a reason to get up,” he said. “It puts some order to my day. It gives me the ability to live a life.”
