DEBRA PEROU, administrator for the Rockingham County Nutrition and Meals on Wheels program, doesn’t faze easily. She and her delivery drivers have made it through floods, ice storms and hurricanes, “and we’ve always been able to deal,” she said.
But Perou, her staff and the seniors they serve faced one of their biggest challenges in March 2020, when the world as they knew it shut down.
“It was scary,” Perou said, adding, “but this is the whole reason we do what we do.”
Across New Hampshire, Perou and her county counterparts have never stopped doing what they do. As the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, these agencies are continuing to deliver to the most vulnerable, and opening their doors again for the food and fellowship that keep New Hampshire seniors going.
“Initially, we were worried that we couldn’t do it,” Perou said. But with the help of her office staff and loyal drivers, the program didn’t miss a beat – or a meal.
“We never closed,” Perou said. “We did cut back to delivering three days a week for three months, and then we were back up to five days.”
Staying safe
One of the keys, she said, was figuring out how to keep her staff safe. She has a dedicated group of craft volunteers who knit and sew for the program, making things like afghans and lap robes. These volunteers turned their talents to making cloth masks, and that supplied much of her people’s PPE (personal protective equipment), according to Perou.
While she availed herself of commercial cleaning supplies, she also received support from area winemakers, who turned their equipment to the making of sanitation solutions. “A lot of people,” she said, “rallied to help.” But then they always do, Perou added. “We get to see the good stuff here.”
Perou said she also changed the way her people do things. Delivery drivers no longer went into their clients’ homes, but left meals at the door.
She had to suspend her congregate dining centers, where seniors meet for a hot noon meal. Some of her clients shifted over to the home deliveries, while others swung by for a “grab-and-go” dinner. Perou learned to be flexible, noting, “It was any way we could get food to people.”
She spent $6,000 to clean her Brentwood facility from top to bottom, and is hoping to see some American Rescue Act reimbursement in the future. In the meantime, she’s grateful for the support of the community and a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Trust. “Without them,” she said, “we would have been up a creek.”
Her agency delivered 358,000 meals to homes in 2020, an increase of 20,000 over 2019.
Dinner companions
But Perou knew that what’s on the plate is only part of the senior dining experience, and when the COVID numbers began to shrink, she gradually opened some of her dine-in centers. At press time they included Newmarket, Portsmouth, Raymond and Windham.
On a Tuesday morning, about a dozen people gathered in the Ray-Fre Senior Center on Main Street in Raymond. Bob Cheney of Raymond dug into a steaming plateful of stewed chicken, rice, a bean medley, a wheat roll and cup of pudding. “I like the socialization,” he said of the congregate meals. “It’s a change from the same-old, same-old.”
His wife, Barbara also enjoys the socialization and was happy when the group meals opened up again. “I cooked for us during COVID,” she said, adding jokingly, “I was forced to.”
While both Bob and Barbara like just about everything they’re served, Barbara said the shepherd’s pie is a particular favorite.
Eileen Arsenault, a summer resident, has been lunching at the center for about 15 years. “I like the variety,” she said, adding that the spaghetti and meatballs is her favorite.
Across the table, Boyd Cooley said he enjoys the conversation. He has no favorites, he said: “Whatever it is, I eat it.”
Another retiree, Stanley Huntt, drives over from Sandown a couple of times a week to have lunch at the Ray-Fre. He especially likes the Italian dishes, he noted. “They’re perfecto!”
Conversation flowed at the long tables. Site manager Susan Mitcheson bustled around, chatting with her regulars, logging her guests in a book, and filling trays for latecomers. “They like the socialization,” Mitcheson observed. “The food is a bonus.”
But it’s good stuff, Mitcheson, also a senior, added. “I eat a lot of their meals myself,” she said with a smile.
Many of the seniors would linger over their coffee, browse the items for sale, or pick up a card or cribbage game before heading home. The Plaistow site offers Bingo in addition to lunch, according to Perou.
Perou recently went back to requiring her employees to wear masks, and she’s keeping a close eye on the rising COVID numbers. “It is not over by a long shot,” she said.
But she’ll deal, as she did in 2020. “I am so proud of my staff,” she said. “We were able to let other people know, at these times of your life, you still have options to keep yourself well.”
For more information on home delivery or congregate meals, call: Belknap/Merrimack counties, 800-856-5525.omfpr,atopom@bm-cap.org; Carroll County, 323-7400; Cheshire County, 352-2253, 800-541-4145; Coos County, 752-3010; Grafton County, 448-4897; Hillsborough County, 424-9967; Rockingham County, 679-2201, Admin@rnmow.org; Strafford County, Admin@snmow.org; or Sullivan County, 352-2253.
