40 years on: St. Matthias' Church meals-on-wheels is still going strong

Volunteers at Westmount's St. Matthias' Church played a crucial role in developing the idea; they founded Group One, which is recognized today as the oldest meals-on-wheels program in the Montreal region. And more than 40 years later, the St. Matthias' group is still going strong.

Only a meals-on-wheels program in Ontario has been acknowledged as older than the St. Matthias' group. Meals-on-wheels started in Britain during the Blitz, when many people lost their homes and the ability to cook their own food.

The idea of delivering meals to those unable to prepare their own evolved into modern programs that deliver mostly to the homebound elderly. By the mid-1950s, home-delivered meal programs were springing up in the United States.

The idea was spreading in Canada a decade later. St. Matthias's program began in 1966, patterned after the British concept.

"It was originally ladies or members of the church who did all the work," says Bob Laxton, who coordinates the St. Matthias' group.

With the help of about 30 volunteers, some of whom came from the defunct Erskine and American Church meals-on-wheels group, the St. Matthias' program provides meals every Monday and Thursday to clients in Westmount, parts of NDG and western downtown.

"We currently have a client on Côte St. Luc Road near Decarie, and we have somebody below the tracks in lower Westmount," says Laxton.

Individual volunteers come in once or twice a month to work as cooks, delivery drivers and servers. Group One prepares meals for 24 people, although the actual number of clients can be less than that.

All preparation takes place in the St. Matthias' Church kitchen. Laxton, who plans the menu and cooks every second Monday, says the meals tend to be fairly simple, taking into account that he doesn't want to challenge the volunteer cooks, some of whom are well into their 80s.

Laxton, who has been a meals-on-wheels volunteer for nearly 20 years, is modest about his contribution. "It's an obligation," he says. "I don't give a lot of money to charity, but I give time. So when somebody comes calling, I'm guilt-free."

Audrey Scott started delivering meals three decades ago. "I like it," says Scott, who does it every Thursday year-around. "You're performing a service and you get to see some nice people who are very grateful. It's just a nice thing to do."

Marjorie Carnegie, who recently retired as president of the St. Matthias' group after serving nearly a decade as a volunteer, notes that the need for such programs is greater than ever.

"A lot of people, and more so now, are living alone and growing old alone, and a lot of them are not able to fend for themselves," she says. "Consequently, it's very necessary that they have food on a regular basis."

To become a St. Matthias meals-on-wheels volunteer, call Bob Laxton at 514-846-0024.