Marcus Wheeler subscribes to the biblical philosophy that "Man does not live by bread alone." He does his part in nourishing both body and soul for the elderly and homebound as a volunteer with Mobile Meals of Tucson.
"People are so appreciative to have someone come by every day at noon and deliver a hot meal and have a little conversation," said Wheeler, who began delivering food to Mobile Meals clients two days each week four months ago. "They like any type of contact, since many are in the house all day with no relatives or friends to come visit. I am the only person some of them see all day long, and it is not just the food that is important so much as the personal greeting from someone who comes by and chats for a while."
The 43-year-old helicopter pilot is no stranger to the program once known locally as "Meals on Wheels." Wheeler had his first contact with a meal delivery program 10 years ago in Sacramento, Calif. He found the experience so rewarding that he put it on his "to-do" list when he retired from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 2001.
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It moved to the top of the list when he was summoned for jury duty in April. After the judge explained he was seating a jury for a five-week trial, Wheeler said he heard every excuse under the sun from the 120-person jury pool. Wheeler decided to make a proposal that he serve his civic duty elsewhere in the community.
"I told the judge I would rather do something besides jury duty and he offered me 15 hours of community service at the charity of my choice. I chose Mobile Meals and elected to stay on there and keep doing it," Wheeler said.
Wheeler is one of 334 volunteers who keep meals moving from 10 local hospitals and health-care facilities into the homes of almost 200 clients, five days weekly throughout the year.
The two daily meals — a hot lunch at noon and a cold meal for dinner — are a ticket to independence, allowing elderly, disabled and convalescing adults to remain at home as opposed to moving into nursing homes or in with family, according to Priscilla Altuna, Mobile Meals executive director.
"We give them the opportunity to continue living in their own homes if they can't fix regular, healthy meals," Altuna said.
"Lots of our clients are diabetic or cardiac or renal patients, and if it weren't for our volunteers bringing in two meals a day, they would be eating cold cereal and junk food or whatever they can get neighbors to pick up for them."
Altuna emphasized that volunteerism has been the heart of Mobile Meals since it was founded in 1970 by the Pima County Medical Society Auxiliary.
The nonprofit organization was all volunteer until 1998; now four part-time employees are aided by volunteer drivers, schedulers and an office support staff that logged more than 17,500 hours last year.
Wheeler said his personal commitment extends beyond civic duty into Christian fellowship for himself and his son, Marcus Jr., who he hopes will learn about charity by example.
"I am not a typical Christian: I don't go to church on Sunday. I try to do my deeds during the week," he said.
Mobile Meals loses about 25 percent of its volunteer drivers during the summer months and needs drivers willing to donate about one and a half hours during the noon hour one day each week to deliver meals to the homebound. If you can't make a weekly commitment, consider sharing a route with friends or volunteering as a substitute driver. Also needed are schedulers, clerical and computer assistance. For more information, call the volunteer coordinator at 622-1600.
Tax-deductible donations can be sent to: Mobile Meals of Tucson, 3003 S. Country Club Road, Suite 229, Tucson, AZ 85713
