Elected Officials Deliver Meals to Mehlville, Oakville Seniors

Two St. Louis County elected officials helped deliver meals to homebound seniors Wednesday in Mehlville, Oakville and Lemay with the Mid-East Agency on Aging's South County Senior Resource Center.

State Representative Bob Burns and St. Louis County Executive Charles Dooley both made the Meals on Wheels rounds, delivering warm, nutritious food to homebound or vulnerable seniors.

"I want to make sure our people are taken care of," said Burns. "My heart goes out to them."

Burns said he made 14 stops on his route, including deliveries to a woman confined to her home after having 23 surgeries after an accident and to another woman who's social security barely covers her rent check.

"I'm going to take that to Jefferson City with me," said Burns.

The MEAAA says they can use the extra hands, especially with a six-figure buget cut looming.

The sequester, a package of automatic federal spending cuts that took affect March 1, could mean a $250,000 cut for the meal budget, said Pam Guest, administrator at the MEAA South County Senior Resource Center.

"We've taken hit after hit after hit," Guest said, describing her meals budget as alerady "robbing Peter to pay Paul." The center hasn't had a budget increase in over 10 years, she said.

The MEAAA’s South County Senior Resource Center has seven home-delivered meal routes, serving 131 homebound seniors. 

at (314) 631-8698.

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