By Philip Sean Curran, Packet Media Group
Hightstown Mayor Steven Kirson and East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov joined Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert and other mayors from the region Wednesday for “Mayors for Meals Day,” a promotional event in all 50 states to spotlight the work Meals on Wheels Association of America does around the country.
They agreed to donate part of their time to bring meals to people in their communities.
Ms. Lempert, sitting earlier in the day side by side with some of her fellow mayors, said she wanted to bring attention to the program for those who need its services as well as for those who might want to volunteer to deliver meals.
In the Mercer County area, Meals on Wheels is run through the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, headquartered on Alexander Road in West Windsor.
Debbie Hoagland, Meals on Wheels coordinator, said about 150 people receive more than 40,000 meals a year, the food coming from the kitchens at the St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton and Brandywine Senior Living on Raymond Road in South Brunswick. Those totals also include recipients of meals programs the Red Cross offers at no charge to residents of Trenton and Hamilton.
Wednesday’s event with the mayors, Ms. Hoagland said, “is just to bring awareness in the community of the need for meals for the senior population and the homebound elderly.”
The Red Cross has a small army of about 140 volunteers, who deliver the food, many of whom are retirees, and some college students who help during the summer.
”We get community groups that help out a lot, too,” said Brandon Verrault, coordinator of the meals at home and weekend mobile programs.
Terri Pycior, an East Windsor resident, said she has been donating her time for the past nine years. Asked about how she got involved, she said a neighbor of hers volunteered delivering meals. Also, she recalled how the Red Cross was there for her after she lost her husband, Joseph, a member of the military who was killed Sept. 11 at the Pentagon.
Ms. Pycior explained there is a social component to delivering the food, a way to socialize with and check up on people who might not see anyone else during the day.
At the Red Cross building, the mayors posed for a brief photo opportunity before heading out to deliver some food. In her case, that meant a trip in the morning to an affordable housing complex on Elm Road to visit the apartment of Eileen Willey.
Ms. Willey, from the living room of her one-bedroom apartment, said she receives meals through the program three days a week. She has a daughter in the area who goes shopping for her.
Ms. Willey became a mini-celebrity for the day, posing for pictures with the mayor and getting interviewed by a TV news reporter.
