Meals on Wheels Poughkeepsie’s Essential Role During COVID-19
Judy Lombardi, Kitchen Manager of Meal on Wheels Poughkeepsie, works tirelessly to manage schedules, prepare meals, and plan deliveries for clients within the area. Meals on Wheels Poughkeepsie supplies hot and healthy meals to Poughkeepsie residents who struggle to provide and make food for themselves, even during the pandemic.
Meals on Wheels Poughkeepsie faced various battles during the height of the pandemic, with limited supplies and volunteers alongside a boom in clients. However, the organization is a core essential business and was needed more than ever. Volunteers delivering nutritious dishes to high-risk individuals was potentially life-saving.
“We stayed open all throughout COVID-19 and we saw a lot of new clients. Not just elderly clients but people who didn’t feel comfortable going to the grocery store,” said Lombardi. “Many of our volunteers did not feel comfortable coming in and we also could not all be in the kitchen preparing food while maintaining social distance. So instead, we had catering delivered from Coppola’s Restaurant in Hyde Park which we delivered to all of our clients.”
The non-profit organization relies on volunteers to help run the kitchen, make sandwiches, and desserts, wash dishes, as well as deliver to all of the clients. “We do have a chef but the volunteers do almost everything else, we are always looking for more volunteers as COVID-19 really took a toll on our numbers,” said Lombardi.
Although the pandemic created difficult obstacles, Lombardi is proud of the way the organization handled every situation, highlighting that they ended up serving the most clients they ever had before and emphasizing the importance of the organization.
“It really showed me that my favorite aspect of my job is the people and helping the community. Between the volunteers, our board members, and our clients, I’m seeing constant inspiration and drive to do better,” said Lombardi.
Meals on Wheels Poughkeepsie has continued to see a shortage of volunteers as well as a shortage in the supply chain. Fresh produce has been a fight to find and some volunteers are still holding back from being in closed quarters. However, they persevere through the challenges to cook for the community and adhere to every client’s lifestyle and nutritional needs.
“We deliver meals 5 times a week to about 52 clients,” said Lombardi. “Our main meal is a hot dinner which comes with milk and bread and dessert, and we specialize the meals to each client’s dietary restrictions and lifestyle. From diabetes, allergies, and more we try to be as accommodating as possible for our clients.”
While many organizations are still struggling to recover from COVID-19, Lombardi has already sought changes to improve Meals on Wheels Poughkeepsie, from new renovations, and ideas, and pursuing a brighter future for the non-profit and clients they serve.
“We recently have done a lot of renovations, especially in our kitchen. We are also looking for ways to better the menu, our dietary options, and the overall atmosphere of the location. We want volunteers to enjoy being there and clients to be satisfied with what they receive,” said Lombardi.
