New Hope Police Department Joins Forces with Meals on Wheels
At Brooklyn Center-based Community Emergency Assistance Programs (CEAP), the nonprofit’s Meals on Wheels program is a vital lifeline for homebound clients.
But it’s one that’s constantly in need of more volunteers.
Servicing 14 metro-area cities from Robbinsdale west to Maple Grove and Plymouth, it takes a lot of people to step up and deliver meals.
However, a special partnership is helping to lighten the load. It’s also delivering a lot more than just a warm meal.
90 Years Young and Still Serving
As a New Hope police reserve officer, you’ll find John Monson patrolling neighborhoods and responding to medical emergencies.
“We’re all trained as medical responders,” said Monson.
But a couple times a month, you’ll find him serving his community in another way, all at the age of 90 years old.
“I’m getting older and older and I figured I could do this, just help other folks,” said Monson.
And help other folks he does, picking up meals for the Meals on Wheels program and delivering them to homebound members of the community.
“Some would like to stand and talk for a while, others just, they have the smile and ‘thank you’ and that’s it. That’s enough,” said Monson.
New Hope Reserve Officer John Monson makes a Meals on Wheels delivery.
CEAP Needs Help
Over the course of a year, Meals on Wheels will have served 500 people.
“A big portion of people we serve with Meals on Wheels are people who are disabled, the elderly,” said Whitney Kavanagh, CEAP’s director of programs.
With high demand and a shortage of drivers, consistency is key.
That’s why the 5-year-old partnership with the New Hope Police Department is so vital.
“It’s nice to be able to rely on that relationship so that we know that those routes are covered and those people are going to be getting those meals,” said Kavanagh.
It’s a relationship that goes beyond the food. When Monson knocks on a door, he’s also delivering a sense of security and goodwill.
“I think it goes back to helping the community have a better feeling about the police,” said Monson. “We’re just part of the community and they feel that, they see that.”
CEAP also partners with police in Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Center.
If you have time to spare, CEAP said it needs drivers and help in the kitchen.
