Community
28 May, 2025
Award-winning Meals on Wheels program needs a helping hand
Some of the volunteers are in their 90s and would be eligible to receive Meals on Wheels.
Mount Isa’s Meals on Wheels organisers hope that a North Queensland community award will help to encourage more volunteers in the Outback city.
The lack of volunteers is a real problem for the local charity, which provides meals to more than 80 clients every weekday.
With an average volunteer age of 75 and some of the kitchen hands in their 90s, the service has found itself in a position where the people who are old enough to be receiving Meals on Wheels are still keeping the organisation afloat.
The Mount Isa Meals on Wheels branch was presented with the Community Volunteering Impact Award at a recent event held by Townsville City Council.
The award highlighted the group’s efforts to provide human connection to elderly and vulnerable residents and help them remain independent at home.
Mount Isa Meals on Wheels president Lucie Sanderson was on hand to accept the award.
“I received the phone call about the award a few weeks ago to let us know we had been short-listed,” she explained.
“Someone had nominated us, which was very kind.
“They asked me to fly to Townsville, and I was very nervous before they announced we had won.
“It is really wonderful for our team to be recognised like this, and we hope it might create some publicity that will encourage others to also volunteer.”
Ms Sanderson has been volunteering at Meals on Wheels for more than 15 years.
She dedicates two or three mornings each week to the organisation.
“All my children are grown up and I was looking for a way to give back to the community,” she said.
“I knew someone who was doing Meals on Wheels and so I started in the kitchen and then I moved on to making deliveries.
“The clients we have become like friends – you learn about what is happening in their lives and they are all so grateful for the help that is provided.
“Everyone who volunteers here becomes like a big family and we try to have a bit of fun.”
Ms Sanderson said the volunteer work was divided between working in the kitchen preparing and labelling the meals, travelling out to make deliveries to clients and assisting with committee organisation.
North West Weekly joined the award-winning Meals on Wheels volunteers as they conducted their deliveries across the city.
We also had the opportunity to meet some of the clients who rely on Meal on Wheels to provide a healthy and reliable meal every weekday.
The common theme the clients shared was that no one planned to become reliant on Meals on Wheels, but life was unpredictable, and health circumstances could change rapidly, which could quickly incapacitate someone and make them house-bound.
Townview resident Carla Elder has been receiving Meals on Wheels for more than three years.
“I got to a point where I couldn’t work anymore – my body was just breaking down,” she explained.
“I just couldn’t do the normal things anymore.
“I try to be independent. but I have a lot of trouble gripping anything and I have burnt myself quite frequently just trying to lift a kettle because I have arthritis in my hands. Just having the meals prepared and delivered means so much to me and the people who come are so kind and lovely.
“I can have a healthy meal and know it will be there for me.”
Further down the road, Soldiers Hill resident Carol Kenna welcomes Meals on Wheels while propped-up in her large chair.
Unable to leave the house due to ongoing medical troubles, she said she enjoyed the company provided by a quick chat with the volunteers.
“I worked all my life in pubs, so I was always used to being around people from all over the world,” she said.
“Having a disability is very isolating because you don’t want to be a burden on anyone, so you decide it’s too much effort to put someone through to take you out.
“I love talking to the Meals on Wheels guys when they come to my house.
“They are just beautiful people, and I don’t know where I would be without them.”
Ms Sanderson said the organisation was keen to hear from anyone who might be able to donate a few hours of their time.
“When we don’t have enough volunteers, it places pressure on everyone else in the team,” she said.
“Someone who is newly retired would be an ideal new volunteer but anyone who could provide just a few hours once a week or every fortnight during the daytime would be welcome.
“We’ve had some people working at the mines who will do a delivery run for us during their week off and that only takes about two hours. We need a minimum of six people to do deliveries every day because you have to travel in pairs, and we also need a minimum of three people in the kitchen.
“As you can see, the clients who we deliver to are so appreciative.
“It’s a very rewarding and interesting way to spend a few hours.”
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Mount Isa Meals on Wheels on 4743 0630 or email mtisamow@bigpond.com.
