New Zealand Red Cross needs more people like Linda

Three mornings a week, Linda Hay sets off around 10.30 am from her home and begins her Meals on Wheels delivery run in Hastings. She’s also filling in on other days to help cover the current shortage of volunteer drivers for this essential service.

New Zealand Red Cross has 31 Meals on Wheels delivery routes a day in Central Hawke’s Bay. That means the organisation needs 31 drivers every day from Monday to Friday, every week of the year. Linda is part of a wider network of volunteers across the country delivering over 700,000 nutritious meals a year to people with disabilities and older people who are unable to cook for themselves. 

Red Cross is putting the call out for more people like Linda to fill a critical shortage of volunteer drivers in Hastings, Napier and Havelock North.

Last September, Linda returned from working on the West Coast to Hawke’s Bay and wanted to support her community, especially in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. “I was looking at the concept of manaakitanga, and wanted to do something to help and be generous with my own time and spirit,” she says.  

When she heard Red Cross was looking for volunteers, she thought ‘that’s something I can do. That’ll give me contact with people. I’ve got a car. I’ve got time. I can do it’. 

Linda started delivering Meals on Wheels in January this year and hasn’t looked back. “I live in Taradale, so Napier is a bit nearer, but Hastings isn’t too far away, and I feel like there is a greater need in that community. I drive to the hospital, pick up the hot meals in sort of little chilly bins and head off on my assigned run. I usually deliver between 20 to 23 meals per run.” 

Linda says the highlight of the role is getting to know the people on her routes. “They're full of stories. Often, I find it's things from their past that they want to tell you about. It's a real buzz just to hear and you just see a different side to them. It’s nice to know they trust you enough to want to share their stories with you”, she says.  

One such person is Gwen Arnold. She worked in administration at Hastings hospital until she was 80. Soon after Gwen retired, she found she could no longer stand in her kitchen long enough to prepare a proper meal. Instant meals were doing her no good at all, so she was referred to Meals on Wheels.  

Now in her 90s, Gwen looks forward to her meal and a chat. “Where else will I get roast beef, and chicken casserole, sweet and sour pork, and butter chicken?”   
“I just love the people that bring them. We’ve become good friends. I feel very looked after, very cared for,” says Gwen. 

Linda also enjoys a chat with Gwen. “When I get there, she’ll say she’s done her four short walks around the outside and she’ll be sitting doing the word find, with the TV on and answering questions on the Chase. She’s a real character and always got stories to tell!”  

Red Cross would like to fill the driver shortage as quickly as possible in Hastings, Napier and Havelock North to share the runs among more volunteers, so Linda and other drivers don’t have to do as many deliveries per week. 

Volunteers are like anyone else; sometimes they might get sick, they go on holidays, or their home or work circumstances change, so there is a regular turnover of volunteer drivers all over the country.  

Linda encourages people to apply for the role. “Just give it a go. I think there's a real need out there. People are looking for that social connection. You might not think that you can give much, but you only have to give a couple of hours. So, something small that you give can, I think, can make a big difference in someone else's day.”  

If you enjoy meeting people, can spare a couple of hours on a weekday morning, (once a week, or fortnight or month), have a valid driver’s licence and can provide a couple of references, Red Cross would love to hear from you. You’d be doing something great for your community.  You can call them on 0800 RED CROSS (0800 733 27677) or on the New Zealand Red Cross website.

Volunteer as a Meals on Wheels Driver.

ENDS

More information

There are more than 3200 Red Cross volunteers like Linda, who deliver more than 700,000 meals in 43 towns and cities across the country, for people who struggle to cook for themselves. New Zealand Red Cross coordinates this large network of meal delivery volunteers, which covers the lion’s share of the country’s Meals on Wheels service.  

The huge geographical reach and the large number of New Zealand Red Cross Meals on Wheels drivers and people served, make coordinating this vital service a massive and complex operation. It can’t pause or be put on hold, even in an emergency like Cyclone Gabrielle. People like Gwen depend on Linda and all the other invaluable Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers across the country.

Get Meals on Wheels

New Zealand Red Cross Meals on Wheels contacts:

National Team Leader: Pip Mabin - pip.mabin@redcross.org.nz

Hastings Meals on Wheels Coordinator: Rose Smith - rose.smith@redcross.org.nz

Napier Meals on Wheels Coordinator: Tracey Renwick - tracey.renwick@redcross.org.nz

Lead photo:  Gwen and Linda