Northwest : HUNTINGTON BEACH : Budget Cuts May End Meal Deliveries

Ernie and Virginia Cushing perform a job each Friday morning that enriches their lives and makes the lives of homebound seniors better.

The couple, both 74, are among 45 volunteers at the Seniors’ Outreach Center who deliver lunch and dinner to other seniors. Currently, meals are delivered each weekday to 75 people.

“The people appreciate it so much, they really depend on us--we may be the only people they see and talk to all day,” Ernie Cushing said.

The 20-year-old Meals to the Home Program, like other city programs, is being threatened by budget cuts. Volunteers who deliver meals will not be reimbursed for mileage under the proposed budget for next fiscal year.

If the $5,000 reduction is approved by the City Council next week, it will be difficult to recruit and keep volunteers, Ernie Cushing said.

He said that while some volunteers don’t collect the reimbursement, for others it is essential.

On a recent Friday, with coolers in the back of their car, the Cushings delivered frozen dinners of breaded steak, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad, plums, muffins and chocolate cake.

Among the recipients was Margaret Cookerley, 95. She has been receiving meals for nine years.

Cookerley can still play the piano and get around with the aid of a walker, but she is unable to cook.

“I’m thankful for the meal,” she said.

Cookerley said the volunteers deliver more than just the meal--they provide friendship and companionship.

Virginia Cushing said the volunteer work is rewarding.

“They all make you feel good because they make you feel like you’re doing something helpful,” she said.