Mobile Meals of La Crosse is well known as the operation that delivers healthy nutritious meals to seniors and people who are disabled, have low income or are homebound, but few understand the mission extends beyond the meal. It’s also about checking in with people and being a positive presence in their lives.
While the meals are prepared by the professional cooking staff at Mayo Health System in La Crosse, volunteers who deliver the meals are the lifeblood of the operation. Steve Tanke has been one of those volunteers for the last 25 years.
Mobile Meals is eagerly seeking more volunteers. To learn more, call 608-784-4623 or visit mobilemealsoflacrosse.org/
You could be, and have been, involved in a number of community volunteer activities. Why Mobile Meals?
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The reason I’ve found delivering mobile meals to be rewarding is the fact that you get to see the impact that Mobile Meals has on their clients. Each day, Mobile Meals provides people with a healthy meal that many of them would not otherwise have access to. Many of the recipients may find it difficult to shop for or prepare a quality and nutritious meal on their own.
I really enjoy talking with the people. Some of them don’t have a great deal of outside contact, so it is a chance to socialize and let them know that someone is making sure they are safe. It has been a lot of fun to get to know so many of the people while delivering meals. Most people are pretty positive, but some of the clients have some very difficult issues going on in their lives. One of the people I regularly deliver to recently experienced the illness and death of their spouse and now lives alone. Each time I deliver, we have a good conversation, and we both usually have a smile when I leave.
What was your most memorable meal delivery?
In addition to the name, all of the meals we deliver are assigned a number. This is done to determine that each individual receives the correct meal adhering to dietary restrictions. An elderly woman who lived alone was always so appreciative to receive her meal and also loved to tell us about the “Matlock” reruns she was usually watching. Just before Christmas, we delivered her meal and she gave us a card that said “Merry Christmas,” and it was signed “From, number 17.”
If you could pick any celebrity to ride along with you, who would it be and why?
I don’t know that I would need a celebrity to ride along. Some of the fun of delivering Mobile Meals has been doing it with family, friends and people from the downtown Rotary club. It is a great way to get to know people while doing something you feel really good about.
I was fortunate to grow up with parents who were active community volunteers. When my father’s health started deteriorating, volunteering was one of the things he missed the most. So he became my Mobile Meals delivery partner. I would drive and deliver the meals and he would navigate. Of course, we always had to go out for lunch afterwards. Those times will always be special and my favorite Mobile Meals memories.
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