Louise

I volunteered as a prep cook in New York soup kitchens for years but felt something was missing. I enjoyed making sandwiches and fruit salad with my fellow volunteers, but I never saw, or interacted, with the clients.

In 2007, I started volunteering for Citymeals-on-Wheels. I was attracted to the idea of visiting New Yorkers who were isolated by illness or age.  The first day was slushy and cold. As I trudged through the snow and up five flights of stairs to deliver a meal, I didn’t know what to expect. The client was a white-haired woman who struggled to the door on two canes. She said she was delighted to meet me and thanked me for being there. She asked me to open her window; she didn’t have the strength.  I knew I was truly helping. I was hooked.

I have a personal commitment to helping others, and enjoy being part of the social fabric of my beloved, complicated, sometime isolating city. I’ve made my living as a journalist writing about the food business, and now working in it. Giving back through food makes perfect sense.

I volunteer for Citymeals at the Carter Burden Center on the Upper East Side, right near where my grandmother lived into her 90s. She was crippled with arthritis and found it difficult to leave her apartment. She had resources and family to ensure she was not alone and hungry. I like that I can help others in her neighborhood, help that she was privileged not to need.

Since I began delivering meals, I have established wonderful friendships with several clients. I call them “my faves.” One is Gabe, a widower in his late 80s, who has lived in the same apartment for 60 years. We chat about the old neighborhood, the news, and how it’s better not to complain about our aches and pains. We send each other holiday cards, and I call Gabe on those rare Saturdays when I have to miss a visit, or he is away. Another fave is a retired nurse who rescues cats, and an ex-Playboy Bunny who calls me honey.

Although I am rich in friends, I am divorced, live alone, have no children, and my immediate family lives out West. I feel selfish about Citymeals-on-Wheels. I’m helping clients feel less isolated, but they are helping me as much, if not more.