Washington Meals on Wheels program gets new leader.
By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON Nicole Fehn broke a leg in 1996. It was hard to get around, she said, and she could have used a lunch or two delivered to her house.
She learned of the township’s Meals on Wheels program through a newspaper about one month after the cast came off. She felt compelled to help.
Today, she finds herself running the program.
Ms. Fehn, 52, has lived in Washington for 24 years. She took over Meals on Wheels in April after its previous director and founder, Josephine Parr, was no longer able to continue her duties for health reasons.
Ms. Parr, a Robbinsville resident of 35 years, founded the local organization in 1995. The idea originated when her mother needed this kind of help, but there were no such programs available.
Ms. Fehn began volunteering for Meals on Wheels in 1996, and eventually became the organization’s secretary. There are currently seven residents receiving meals, but the number reaches as many as 15. Most are elderly and have difficulty getting around.
Meals cost $3.50 the program is not part of the federally funded nutrition program at the Senior Center, where meals are offered for only $1. But some of Ms. Fehn’s clients who find themselves in financial need do receive a price break.
Meals on Wheels survives on donations from the community. Help comes from Senior Center Director Susan Molnar, who holds a rummage sale once a year with the proceeds going toward the program. Plus, Mayor Dave Fried is donating all the money he receives from conducting marriage ceremonies to the organization.
Ms. Fehn’s husband, Edward, is a retired construction worker who now volunteers his time to Meals on Wheels. There are 14 other volunteers who help drive meals to patients.
"Without these people behind me I would have a really hard time providing the meals," she said.
A former nurse, Ms. Fehn now operates two electrolysis practices. She has two grown stepchildren, who now live out of state.