Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels have distributed almost Three Thousand Dinners to date during Covid 19 Pandemic.
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It has been a tough year for many this year. On the 31st March we had to close the Day Centre because of the Covid 19 pandemic. Many thought it was just going to be a short glitch in our lives but we in the Care of the Aged Committee took a more realistic view and prepared for the long haul. On 31st March when no longer able to use our own facilities at the Day Centre, we arranged overnight, to outsource the Meals on Wheels so that our most vulnerable in our community would be catered for. Without any break in the service we had meals to our clients the next day. and since then, a year later on 31st March 2021 we have delivered 2981 dinners to on average 26 clients three days per week without a break.
Because how difficult it is due to lockdown and limitation of travel, people and especially the elderly find it very difficult if not impossible to get to shops or even out of their homes, we have increased the service and as well as the normal days we delivered throughout all the customary holidays, Christmas, Easter, Hallowe’en, and of course the rather long Summer holidays.
Our distributers are vaccinated against Covid which will be reassurance for our clients we are sure.
We appreciate the assistance of the HSE for their co-operation, Lorraine Sweeney and Christine Marley of The Cope, Dungloe for preparing the dinners, the local District Nurse and our two distributers Rose Ann O Donnell and John Michael Sweeney.
We do not anticipate the Day Centre being functional in the near future as much work has to be carried out to the building itself to conform with new regulations etc., but we would like to inform our patrons as we get many enquiries, that they will be the first to know.!!
Happy Easter, stay safe and look out for each other.
 
John Sweeney

Services Manager
Annagry Care of the Aged Committee

Christmas 2020

Menu
Click here to download a copy of this menu.

On the 26th March 2020 we were forced to close our Day Centre facility due to Covid 19. This also ended all our services including the Meals on Wheels service from the Centre to the community. We got in touch immediately with HSE and The Cope Dungloe and worked out an arrangement whereby The Cope provides the meals on contract to us and enables us to fulfil our obligation to the HSE to provide meals on three days per week to our clients in the parish. So speedy was this service in place that our clients did not miss a day’s meals with the new service taking over on Tuesday 31st March. Since then a full three days per week service including Easter week has been maintained. We have widened our client base as well and all clients of the Day Centre, or their families, were contacted immediately to offer the Meals on Wheels service to their doors when the Day Centre closed. The meals in modern attractive packaging, are transported in insulated boxes insuring hot meals to our clients and full compliance with all HSE Health & Safety regulations.

Meals On Wheels

Rosanne O Donnell, who delivers the meals, Declan Dorrian (Cope) supplier and John Michael Sweeney organiser

A special word of thanks for this Trojan work to Kevin Daly of The Cope, together with his staff Declan Dorrian, Martin McGarvey and chefs Christine Marley and Lorraine Sweeney who have made this a seamless almost automatic process. Menu and numbers agreed over the weekend for delivery Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Delivery each day between 1.30pm and 2.30pm thanks to the dedication of Rosanne O Donnell and John Michael Sweeney. Any client with special dietary requirements are catered for confidentially and without fuss.

Also we acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Susie Houston of HSE Services for Older People and Brendan McGowan Catering Manager of the HSE who gave us every assistance in achieving continuity of service at a very worrying and uncertain time for us all.

With the unpredictability of the Covid 19 virus it is impossible to say when or if the Day Centre reopens and we must face the reality that this may not happen until perhaps a vaccine is available which could be some time away. Even then, other considerations may have to be addressed such as adapting the building to allow for any new regulations; spacing etc. We will always follow the HSE guidelines and will only act in consultation with them. Best practice will always be maintained. At the moment with the surges in the pandemic, we feel our elderly clients are safer in their own homes.

We are dedicated to provide the Meals on Wheels service to our clients as a top priority and now with winter approaching we reach out to any new clients who may wish to avail of the service or if you know of someone who might benefit from it please get in touch with us or with the district nurse. An application must be made and approval obtained to avail of the service. We list below the criteria as laid down by the HSE for your information. 

 

Christmas 2020 Dinner

A peek at the Special Christmas Dinner and Gift bag we delivered to 30 clients on Thursday 17th December. We also continued the service up to Christmas Eve due to the recent dangerous surge in the Covid 19 pandemic which may be causing great hardship and distress to our older people who are finding it difficult to go shopping for food and other essentials. Many of our Older People have expressed their appreciation of the postmen and postwomen, the Gardaí and Clergy for their concern and kindness towards them and on their behalf we thank them and the kindly neighbours who do a great job also.

A special word of thanks go to Roseanne O Donnell and John Michael Sweeney for their organizing and distribution of Meals on Wheels since we  were forced to close our services from the Day Centre in March this year and have not had a week’s break since then. To that end we will be taking a breather next week (Jan 29, 30, 31) but will be resuming business as usual as from January 5th 2021.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and a much better 2021.

 

You can contact us as follows:

CLICK ON THE   ‘CONTACT US’   BUTTON ABOVE 

Bríd Feda Ní Dhomhnaill
086 8622528

Anne Marie Gillespie:
086 0829844

Brid ‘The Hall’ Gallagher

Catherine Patterson:
087 6644437

Brid Mc Cole

Or any member of the committee.

John Sweeney Services Manager
Annagry Care of the Aged.