Higher gas prices strain Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers

A tank of gas was becoming part of the cost of lunch for homebound seniors in eastern Onondaga County. Meals on Wheels of Eastern Onondaga County said higher fuel prices were making it harder for more than 100 volunteer drivers, who use their own cars and pay for their own gas, to keep delivering hot meals to about 230 people.

Jennifer Covert, the group’s executive director, said the strain was showing up most on longer routes. When a volunteer could not make a run, the organization sometimes had to step in directly so a meal still reached a senior who depended on it. That made the issue far bigger than a volunteer budget problem. It affected whether a senior got lunch on time and whether someone knocked at the door to make sure everything was all right.

The county’s Home Delivered Meals program runs through the Office for Aging and includes Meals on Wheels Eastern Onondaga County, Kosher Meals on Wheels, Meals on Wheels of Syracuse, Inc. and North Area Meals on Wheels. Meals are delivered Monday through Friday by caring volunteers who also check on clients each day. For older adults who cannot shop or cook for themselves, that daily contact is part of the service, not an extra.

The program has long relied on small contributions from the people it serves. Eligible clients are asked to contribute $4 for two meals, or $4.50 for two kosher meals, but no one is turned away because they cannot or will not pay. Meals on Wheels Eastern Onondaga County said it has been providing nutritious meals and support to eastern Onondaga County residents since 1974.

The pressure on local drivers comes as the wider senior nutrition network is under strain nationwide. Meals on Wheels America says its network delivers 244 million meals a year to 2.6 million older adults, and one in three providers has a waitlist for home-delivered meals. The group has said federal funding has not kept pace with rising costs or growing need.

That broader squeeze has already reached Washington. In December 2024, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called for $1.842 billion in funding for the Older Americans Act Title III-C Nutrition Program, saying low-cost meal deliveries are a lifeline for older Americans. In Onondaga County, where 19.7% of residents are 65 or older, the concern is immediate: when gas rises to around $4.513 a gallon, a volunteer’s next fill-up can help decide whether a neighbor gets a meal, a check-in and another day of staying safely at home.