The delivery of countless thousands of freshly cooked, hot meals six days a week to appreciative clients is just part of what Boggabri Meals on Wheels (MOW) has done over the past 50 years.
In addition to making sure the elderly or house bound have regular nutritious meals, the MOW volunteer visitors are a vital and valued contact for their clients.
They are sometimes the only visitors the often sole occupant of the house receives.
The MOW volunteers’ welcome knock signals the opportunity for the recipient to enjoy much more than a meal delivered to the door, but to chat, seek advice and help, and simply socialise.
The fifty years of service by Boggabri MOW was celebrated with a lunch party at Boggabri Public School hall on Saturday.
“Some receive a meal six days a week, some three or one,” said HACC co-ordinator Noreen Boehm.
Noreen oversees the operations of HACC which embraces a wide range of community services, of which MOW is part.
The 50th birthday lunch was attended by 70 volunteers, clients, and guests.
There are 45 volunteers who give their time and commitment to Boggabri MOW.
HACC president Sue Roser welcomed official guests Member for Barwon, Kevin Humphries, Member for Parkes Mark Coulton and his wife Robyn Coulton and NSW MOW president, Ron Welsh and wife Sue Welsh.
Narrabri Shire councillor Bevan O’Regan and his wife Margaret O’Regan were the only council representatives.
Mr Welsh applauded the voluntary work of the Boggabri MOW and emphasised the key the volunteers played in helping their clients maintain quality of life.
Mr Coulton, who is co-convenor of the federal parliamentary committee, Friends of MOW, thanked the organisers and volunteers.
He said it was recognised that the valuable social role MOW volunteers played also had tangible benefits in community health: “Research shows that inadequate nutrition is a major reason elderly people end up in care. The personal attention, commitment and interest of MOW volunteers and delivery of nutritious meals played a major role in allowing people to remain comfortably in their own homes for longer.”