Meals on Wheels program in the works for Evangeline region

A Meals on Wheels program is in the works for the Evangeline region of P.E.I., after the local school community association put out a survey that heard from many willing volunteers, as well as people interested in receiving meals.

Patricia Richard, a community development co-ordinator, said about 20 people said straight away that they wanted the service, with similar numbers offering to deliver.

Meals on Wheels is available in Tyne Valley and Summerside, but not in between, she said. The new service would include communities such as Mont Carmel, Wellington and Egmont Bay.

Richard said it's for "people that are isolated at home and maybe they do live alone and they don't have the energy or the drive or the interest to be cooking for themselves, might not have good nutrition and not nourishing themselves as well as they should be."

She said the meals will likely cost from $4 to $8 each. 

Richard said the school cafeteria is willing to help pilot the program, for a limited group of participants.

The next steps involve a meeting with the Voluntary Resource Centre in Charlottetown, who have offered to provide documents and software they use to provide the service in the city. 

The trial will likely start "within a few months," she said, focusing on one or two days a week.