Special report: How Meals on Wheels program serves Central Oregon seniors in very special ways

'I just love these people!' volunteer says

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) The Redmond Senior Center serves nearly 32,000 meals a year, through Central Oregon's Meals on Wheels Program.

"Something that I never had before.  But of course, I worked all the time. I never had a meal delivered. I just -- well, I can’t say enough good about it," Audean Wymer said.

Audean, 88, is one of the 150 recipients the Redmond Senior Center volunteers delives food to. She spent more than 30 years working in retail and is a recent leukemia survivor, after fighting the disease for the past 45 years.

“I will eat a Meals on Wheels early, because it gives you more energy. And if I have another one in my freezer, I’ll have it for dinner around 3:30," Audean said. "I couldn’t think of a thing that they could do more of -- well, I would like to have fried chicken!"

The meals are prescheduled and cooked at the Redmond Senior Center.

Kristi Dunlap and other volunteers grab their checklists, fill their bags and deliver them.

“There’s just a lot of seniors that are not able to motate and get to the grocery store or drive," Kristi said.

Laurie Uding is another recipient who relies on the service in her daily life.

“I was in the hospital, had heart surgery, and I needed help," Laurie said.

With her heart condition, Laurie would have struggled to prepare meals. Now, she looks forward to the baked fish meals.

In the last month of his life, Kristi said her dad used the service, and now, she has the heart to pay it forward. She said she enjoys building meaningful connections with the residents she's been helping serve through the Redmond Senior Center since 2020.

"I just love these people!" she said, tears close to flowing.

At her next stop, she asks the man receiving his meal, "Are you going to behave yourself today?" And in similar fashion, he responds: "I doubt it." To which she replies, with a laugh, "I doubt it, too!"

Laurie hopes to pay it forward in the same way some day.

“All these wonderful angels come every day and give up a beautiful meal," she said.

While offering a simple and expedient food service is the idea, the deliveries also serve as an opportunity to carry out welfare checks.

“Over the years, I have called 911 three times for residents that have fallen," Kristi said.

The nonprofit receives $180,000 in government funding, and the program relies heavily on donations from the community for an additional $220,000 to operate efficiently. Recently, a Passion for Pets program was added, so seniors can feed their pets well, too. So far, 25 of the 150 Meals on Wheels recipients use the service.