Meals on Wheels Feeds the Elderly Year-Round : Nun’s Work Led Her to Found Program for Homebound Parishioners

Like Katharine Hepburn, Sister Alice Marie Quinn would be an oak if she were a tree.

She is an oak in the eyes of the over 1,000 seniors who receive Meals on Wheels seven days a week, rain or shine. She is especially an oak at Christmas time when, to those seniors who seem more lonely and alone than most, she takes time from her hectic schedule to handwrite a note of support and add a blessing so that the senior knows that people really do care about them. Some write back to express their surprise or thanks. “It’s very touching,” she said.

Sister Alice Marie loves her job. “I can’t wait to come to work every day. You have to love your job to do it seven days a week.”

Sister Alice Marie estimates that most of the seniors live alone and most are below poverty level. “About 80% of them see only us all day, so we try to remember them on birthdays with a birthday cake or samples of perfume or a mug and candy bar. During the holidays we send special things--a live pine branch, soft candies. They like fruit gems.

Former Dietitian

“This year I plan to give animal crackers because I haven’t had them since I was a kid growing up in Chicago. And maybe a tangerine, which is something I also always was given at Christmas. It fills my childhood nostalgia, as well.”.

Sister Alice Marie is a Daughter of Charity at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where she formerly worked as a dietitian. “I had been working in hospitals and realized that patients go home without nutritional guidance. Many of them go without the means to feed themselves properly and some would get sicker once away from the hospital,” she explained.

Back in 1976, Sister Alice Marie decided with the full support of the parish priest at Precious Blood Church, where she served to provide 75 lunches to needy and elderly parishioners.

“We started out with no money and no cook. I did the cooking at that time. Then a man walked in looking for a job and we hired him. We have one cook and two helpers who do the cooking now that the 75 meals a day have grown to 1,100 and the need is getting greater.

“Most of the prep work is done the night before and the cooks come in early to finish things off. I do the buying and the menus and am constantly looking for new products to add to the menus.”

As a dietitian, Sister Alice Marie adheres to the policy of no salt in the cooking. Nor is anything fried. “Everything is done in the oven or a 60-gallon kettle on the stove,” she said. We try to stick to low-fat items and all canned fruits are packed in their own juices. We do give a pie once a week and periodically a pudding and cake. Most of our seniors live alone and don’t have much. The sweets are a treat for them.”

Knowing what they like to eat is no hit-or-miss proposition. “We interview them and get down their likes and dislikes,” said Sister Alice Marie. “Most of our senior clients don’t like mixed casseroles or anything exotic. They do like roast turkey, chicken and we also include fish twice a week. They also like roast beef and hamburger steak.

“Some Jewish clients don’t like pork, and we give diabetics fresh fruit instead of pudding or dessert. Because of denture problems, most of the foods are soft. We also ask if they want or don’t want raw salad.”

The meals are free, but requests for donations are sent to clients. A flat $2 provides a hot meal (the actual cost is $4) with large enough servings that, for many, stretch into two meals.

Some of the deliverers are volunteers from the neighborhood or the parish itself. “We have great volunteers and many have been with us for a long time. They stay because they love it and are dependable. Our paid staff is wonderful too,” Sister Alice Marie said.

But the program is more than a feeding program according to Sister Alice Marie. For most of the seniors, the Meals on Wheels is a lifeline. “Many times we find an elderly person has fallen. But they know that someone would be there to help when we delivered the meal. We have also found some who had died during the night, so we take appropriate measures to notify proper authorities.”

What’s on the menu for Christmas? How does turkey, dressing, yams and apples, peas with pearl onions, petite croissants, orange juice, pumpkin pie and fresh fruit cup sound? And, yes, there will be a Christmas tree for a senior to grow in a small pot and a bag of candies, cookies and fruit on Christmas day.