Kosher Meals on Wheels, a vital service offered to older homebound adults in metro Detroit, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an important fundraising concert and dinner. The event will be held at Adat Shalom Synagogue (29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills) on Sunday, June 2 at 4 p.m. and will feature acclaimed a capella vocal band Six 13 with a dinner catered by Quality Kosher Catering. The event will be honoring Ellen (z”l) and Dr. Jim Labes, longtime Kosher Meals on Wheels Volunteers, and proceeds will benefit meal costs for the program.
Each year approximately 35,000 lunches and dinners are packed and delivered by volunteers from the National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI) in partnership with Jewish Family Service of Metro Detroit. The meals are prepared by Epic Kosher Catering. The program was started by NCJW|MI in 1973 when a need in the community was spotted; volunteers wanted a way to help older adults remain independent in their own homes. Early on, around 200 seniors were provided with meals a day, but over the years that number has declined as many older adults have moved to senior housing. While around 95 clients now receive meals, during the pandemic the number rose to over 150 as so many older people were isolated in their homes.
Carol Sue Coden, of Bloomfield Hills, started delivering meals back in the fall of 1976 after her youngest son started school. She became involved with the program after taking a Jewish Federation bus tour which stopped off at Federation Apartments and saw the food being cooked and packed up. Coden and her friend Janelle Miller started working as substitute drivers on Wednesdays before getting a route as permanent drivers. Coden moved through the ranks of the program becoming more and more involved, becoming a day chair, chair of meals on wheels and eventually president of NCJW|MI.
“At that time meals were mostly delivered in Northwest Detroit, but then people started moving out to Oak Park and Southfield and other suburbs,” says Coden, who delivered meals for over 15 years, even roping her father in to volunteering when he retired. “I really enjoyed Meals on Wheels as I loved the older adults. It’s such a wonderful program.”
The service provides more than just meals, however, to its clients. “It gives our clients a friendly smile which enhances their life. Having company, even for just five minutes a day, makes a huge difference,” says current Kosher Meals on Wheels coordinator Linda Greenfield.
She explains that making sure people are doing well is an important part of the service. “If they don’t answer the door, the volunteer will call me, and I will call the person’s emergency contact. We will even do a wellness check and call the police if necessary,” says Greenfield, who has a paid position with NCJW|MI to run the program.
Coden herself remembers times when she had to call 911 for health emergencies. “We always had two people doing deliveries so that if we ran into a problem, one of us could stay with the client and the other one could carry on delivering,” she says.
President of NCJW|MI Sallyjo Levine described the dedication of the volunteers as phenomenal. “They come back year after year and get such pleasure from being able to perform this community service to help our aging community,” she said. “They pack and deliver and have a small, but very important, relationship with the people they serve.”
Levine was previously a volunteer with Kosher Meals on Wheels and currently is an emergency volunteer for the service, stepping in when additional assistance is needed. She intends to go back to the program more regularly once her presidency comes to an end. “One of the best things we can do in the community is to honor our seniors with a meal and a smiling face,” she adds. “I’m hoping that many people will join us in celebrating the 50th anniversary of this essential program as the funds raised will help ensure its continued success.”
For more information about the concert and dinner or to order tickets which start at $54 for the concert, call NCJW|MI’s office on 248. 355. 3300 ext. 0 or go to www.ncjwmi.org. Tickets should be ordered by May 14.