Norwin Meals on Wheels: 25 years of volunteerism helping to feed others

Anthony and Grace Mastro of North Huntingdon were doing Friday morning what they have been doing for the past 25 years — delivering meals from the Norwin Area Meals on Wheels to those who need them.

“I feel like you’re doing a good thing,” by volunteering to deliver the meals on a route that takes them to 21 homes in North Huntingdon, Grace Mastro said.

Tony Mastro, the designated driver of the 86-year-old couple, said they saw the opportunity to volunteer a quarter-of-a-century ago because they wanted to help others.

“It’s not hard work and it is rewarding. It is so important to them,” said Tony Mastro, referring to the recipients.

The 25th anniversary of their delivering meals coincides with the Norwin Area Meals on Wheels celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, delivering meals to the frail or elderly, the disabled and those recovering from an accident, illness or surgery, for $5 a day, said Clint Page, vice president of the organization.

The Mastros are among about 25 volunteers for the Norwin Meals on Wheels who help to make the food, fill the trays, pack the coolers with the meals and deliver them. Spread across six separate routes, the organization delivers 105 meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 80 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Grace Mastro said she became familiar with Meals on Wheels while serving as a visiting nurse years ago and seeing how her patients benefited from the nutritious meals they received.

“It was a great help to them,” Grace Mastro said.

The meals provided to those in need in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area initially came from Tri-City Meals on Wheels, which prepared and delivered the meals from its kitchen in Southwest Greensburg, said Clint Page, vice president of the Norwin Area Meals on Wheels. The organization operates on an annual budget of about $150,000, Page said.

The demand in the Norwin area for the meals was sufficient enough that there was a waiting list for people wanting meals, which lead to the creation of the Norwin Area Meals on Wheels.

The chief cook, Sue Floder of North Huntingdon, one of two employees of the organization, said she is in her 26th year with Meals on Wheels. She predates the first delivery of meals on Nov. 2, 1998, because she had to make arrangements for food supplies to be delivered before they could start preparing and delivering the meals.

Their first home of the operation was the basement of the First United Church of Christ in Irwin, but they quickly outgrew it and needed a facility with a larger kitchen, Floder said. They moved to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in North Huntingdon for six months, before moving to New Hope Presbyterian Church.

The Meals on Wheels, like so many other organizations, was impacted by covid pandemic. They had volunteers step away and some of those receiving meals stopped getting them, Page said.

“We’ve recovered. We’ve got more volunteers, over 100, and more recipients,” Page said.

As part of its 25th year anniversary, Norwin Area Meals on Wheels is looking for 120 Norwin community leaders to volunteer to deliver meals for a day in September, to experience the contributions Meals on Wheels makes in the Norwin community. They hope to have volunteer deliverers for each of the six routes for each weekday in September.

Information on the guest delivery program is available by contacting Kellie Simon at kelliesimon@comcast.net or by calling 724-864-4324 and providing name, preferred dates and contact information.

As for the regular crew of drivers and deliverers, the Mastros used to do it five days a week, but are now down to one day a week.