Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois is cooking up hundreds of meals a day to serve individuals who are housebound in cities such as Evanston.

The organization serves older adults, those who have developmental disabilities or who cannot prepare meals for themselves, said Executive Director of Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois Justin Block. The nonprofit held its annual gala Thursday at the Woman’s Club of Evanston.

The earliest iteration of Meals on Wheels in Evanston was a grassroots effort. In 1968, a nun and a few volunteers created the chapter, Block said. In the mid-1970s, the group merged with a similar initiative at a hospital, and together they reached out to the Meals on Wheels organization to use the name, he added.

Today, the organization serves 130 people with around 350 active volunteers. Block attributed the high level of volunteer participation to Evanston’s strong community. 

“There’s a direct connection, a direct correlation, to that sense of ownership in the community and stewardship of the community by Evanstonians,” Block said. “They see the need, they can look beyond themselves and want to participate in the solution.”

Meals on Wheels differentiates itself from other meal delivery services by offering multiple meal choice options and prioritizing social connection, said Will McFarland, director of development of Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois.

“It’s way easier for people to fall between the gaps, and when something’s out of sight, out of mind, as our clients often are when you’re homebound, it’s harder to get that visibility,” he said.

Meals on Wheels keeps drivers on the same routes so volunteers can develop relationships with the people they serve, he added.

Social connection is particularly important for the people served by Meals on Wheels, as some do not have consistent human interaction outside of the organization, Block said.

“Oftentimes, for our clients, our volunteers are the only ones that they see once or twice a week, and so it’s important we play a pivotal role in their well-being, to make sure that someone’s checking in on them,” Block said.

Volunteers pick up on changes in the clients’ behavior since they last delivered a meal, said Lori Nerenberg, a Meals on Wheels volunteer.

This can help both the volunteers and individuals who receive meals feel less lonely, she added.

“It really just is this magical connection,” Nerenberg said. “It’s hard to describe it other than that.”

Block noted that Northwestern students often volunteer, which Evanston residents appreciate. 

Even so, he added that some college students seem to think that seniors are far removed from them and that seniority is not “their reality.” However, he said he thinks this is not the case. 

“The reality is that all of these people that we serve are somebody’s grandmother, somebody’s uncle, somebody’s aunt, somebody’s great grandfather,” Block said. “These people are part of everybody’s family, and it’s important to center that in our daily lives.”

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