Legislator with family ties to Allentown Meals on Wheels tours facility to bolster campaign

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — State Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Lehigh Valley, toured Allentown’s Meals on Wheels facility Friday as part of a campaign to get Congress to support senior nutrition programs, and he had an important inspiration.

Siegel's father, Monty, is a long-time Meals on Wheels volunteer.

Meals on Wheels' #SaveLunch campaign seeks an increase in federal funding for senior nutrition programs and for Congress to address senior hunger and isolation.

“Save the lunch is about making sure that at its very core, we’re giving seniors the services they need,” Siegel said.

“A healthy nutritious meal is so integral to everyone’s life, but particularly as you get older, you want to make sure you’re getting the nutrition that you need and you’re getting the interaction that we all want.”

The Meals on Wheels America website says, “Congress must #SaveLunch by providing at least $1.284 billion for the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program.”

That includes $562 million for home-delivery meal services and $160 million for the Nutrition Services Incentive Program.

Every day, the Allentown facility produces 1,200-1,500 meals for their clients throughout the Lehigh Valley, Brenda Blaicher, who does development and communications for the facility, said.

It relies on volunteers to help deliver meals straight to their members’ doorsteps.

'Struggle to interact'

Blaicher said Monty Siegel "has been with us for many years.”

“He does it on his lunch break and enjoys it," she said. "He delivers to the people around where he lives, so he gets to see his neighbors on a more personal basis.”

Josh Siegel said he was inspired by the work his dad does and wanted to see Meals on Wheels in person.

Dina Kovats-Bernat, the program director of development and communications, led Siegel on the tour.

She told him that they work with a dietician to ensure properly balanced and nourishing meals.

“It’s big quantities but it’s also really good quality,” she told Siegel.

Siegel said the facility speaks to the challenges and importance of taking care of seniors.

“The American dream is that you work hard your whole life and you’re supposed to be able to retire with dignity,” Siegel said. “Part of that is making sure that you don’t get disconnected from society.

"So many of our seniors live in an isolated way. They don’t have family anymore. And so, they struggle to get around, they struggle to interact, they struggle to meet other people and have that really critical human interaction.”

'A great community asset'

Blaicher said that she was glad to have Siegel tour and help raise awareness for Meals on Wheels’ mission.

“I think people know us, but they don’t know exactly what we do,” she said. “I think the perception is that we just serve seniors that are low income and that's really not the case.”

Anyone is eligible to receive a meal, regardless of their age or financial status, she said.

Some of the clients are socially isolated with no one to support them. Others are on long-term disability, she said.

Meals on Wheels offers a variety of meal options that cater to a wide range of individuals.

“Our youngest client is 19 years old and our oldest just turned 106,” Blaicher said.

After touring the facility, Josh Siegel joined his father on his delivery route in West Bethlehem.

Monty Siegel drives the 2-3 mile circle on his lunch breaks on Mondays and Wednesdays.

He delivers hot and cold meals to nine to 14 individuals or families, depending on the month.

He’s been driving the same route for two years and has come to know his neighbors personally and has memorized their favorite meals.

Josh Siegel said he was proud to have the facility in his district.

“This is a really remarkable facility,” he said. “It’s a great community asset … I mean, they’re making thousands of meals so it’s something to be proud of.

"We should be really grateful that it’s here in the Lehigh Valley.”