PHOTOS: Why a morning spent with Meals on Wheels volunteers was ‘the most exhilarating thing’ ever
"It was the most exhilarating thing that I have ever witnessed," Reginald Johnson writes after visiting a Meals on Wheels event at MIFA HQ. "You'd think that people are racing to MIFA picking up gold bars. But for them, the cargo in their cars is more precious than silver and gold, for they are on a mission to serve some of the most vulnerable and isolated seniors in our city. You can see it in their eyes and you can hear it in their voices; you can see it in the urgency of their walk."
This is the second in our new series on senior food insecurity. It’s a topic that is especially important in the greater Memphis area, which has the third highest senior food insecurity rates in the country. High Ground contributor Reginald Johnson spent a morning at the headquarters of MIFA (Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association) as volunteers readied another day of Meals on Wheels deliveries for some of our region’s most vulnerable of residents.
Read our first installment in the series, Addressing senior food insecurity is a critical need nationwide, but especially in Memphis, on High Ground News.
I visited MIFA (Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association) headquarters on the morning of Wednesday, March 20, for one of the organization’s March for Meals events, a month-long series that invited community leaders and stakeholders to participate in the Meals on Wheels program. Memphis City Council member Philip Spinosa and Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn were among the volunteers that morning.
MIFA and their team of dedicated volunteers have been providing meals to homebound and/or disabled Mid-South seniors since 1976. Over the years, I remember seeing our local news stations covering stories about MIFA’s Meals On Wheels program.
You know how you have heard about a thing?
And you think you know about a thing…
But you really don’t know about a thing…
Until you become a part of a thing?
Well, that’s what happened to me. Little did I know that I would meet some of the most remarkable and servant-hearted people on this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.
The altruist spirit of those who volunteer and the staff at MIFA that run this amazing program will give you the feeling that you are missing out on one of Life’s most precious joys.
of Germantown, waving to the camera as she reports to volunteer: “Over and over again, (recipients) said, ‘Bless you, you’re such a blessing. God bless you. Have a wonderful day.’ And then as I was driving out of one neighborhood, there was a house that had some graffiti written on it with the words John 3:16. I heard it as a reminder of love, that God so loves the whole world – every single neighborhood, every single corner of Memphis.”
The place is high-octane; volunteers pull up to the building and an Indy 500-style pit crew comes out and fills their cars with nutritious meals ready for delivery. They are off in what seems only a matter of seconds.
It was the most exhilarating thing that I have ever witnessed. You’d think that people are racing to MIFA picking up gold bars. But for them, the cargo in their cars is more precious than silver and gold, for they are on a mission to serve some of the most vulnerable and isolated seniors in our city. You can see it in their eyes and you can hear it in their voices; you can see it in the urgency of their walk.
Thanks to MIFA and the amazing volunteers who opened up to me about their lives and why this work means so much to them. I walked away with a profound sense of gratitude for not only what I witnessed but what I heard.
I know that one day soon I will share in the kind of joy that all of you talked about. We all need a dose of that in our lives.
Visit MIFA online to learn more about Meals on Wheels and additional programs offered to at-risk populations throughout Shelby County.
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