Before my early retirement, my friends would ask me what I was going to do with my spare time. The reply was usually, more golf, see the world and maybe do some volunteering work. When I retired, a friend who volunteered in the branch on a Friday invited me along. Some 13 plus years later I am still cooking on a Friday. Initially, it was peeling the spuds for 130 meals. This was about 13kgs. I then moved on to cooking the sweets, and now I cook either soup or the main meals. For the mains, we now provide a choice between two meals, whereas in the past only one meal was cooked.
I love the people I work with at the Branch, they are friends. I love the conversation as we discuss life. I love the banter between us. We have both Crows and Power supporters… say no more. I enjoy the mental task of getting the timing right for the cooking. Roast spuds take longer than roast carrots which take longer than roast pumpkin. We are not trained cooks nor chefs, just home cooks who can follow a recipe.
Meals on Wheels is not just cooking and delivering meals to customers. There are other tasks such as ordering food, condiments and packaging. There is the paying of bills and other financial matters. There is coordinating of volunteers, so we have the right number of cooks, drivers and deliverers each day. We also coordinate customers so that they get the right meal on the right day.
We have a committee, of which I am the Chairperson. We meet every two months and discuss issues to ensure the Branch runs smoothly.
I am in awe of the generosity of people that give of their time to volunteer, anywhere, any organisation. Meals on Wheels shows the good side of humanity.
