PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla — Florida is seeing record-high gas prices right now. The average gallon currently costs $4.73, according to AAA.
Those high prices are impacting nonprofits like Meals on Wheels, an organization that delivers hot meals to elderly and homebound seniors. Neighborly is the nonprofit that provides Meals on Wheels services in Pinellas County.
Jennifer Seguin volunteers with Meals on Wheels in Pinellas County weekly. She delivers around seven meals throughout her Pinellas Park route. She says for the recipients of the meals, it's often a lot more meaningful than you may realize.
"It's nice to go and see these people," Seguin said. "We're probably the only people they see all day long, maybe even all weekend long."
Seguin, like all volunteer drivers for Meals on Wheels, pays to fill her tank herself. The high gas prices have made her volunteer efforts costlier.
"I'd say I'm using about 2-3 gallons every time I do a delivery," she said. "And when you asked me that—now it's kind of hitting me, that's 15 bucks."
The need for volunteers is big, especially at this time of year.
"We lose somewhere between 25 and 35 percent of our volunteers – they're snowbirds, they're northerners," David Lomaka, the Executive Director for Neighborly explains.
This means fewer drivers to get the job done. Meals on Wheels recently gave $10 gift cards to volunteer drivers after receiving an $8,000 donation. But now, $10 only puts a couple of gallons in your tank, often less than what is needed for a single delivery route.
Pinellas County delivers roughly 2,000 meals a day. With an increased need for meal services and fewer volunteers, it means spending more on paid drivers.
"60 percent [of the meals delivered] are provided by volunteers, 40 percent are paid drivers," Lomaka said.
Neighborly's monthly fuel bill for meal deliveries has gone from $8,000 to $20,000 to fill the gap. Lomaka says it's become common for administrative staff to pick up delivery routes where they can.
They're in need of an additional 500 volunteer drivers to help offset costs. If you're interested in signing up, click here.
To keep up with the current growth in the people Meals on Wheels serves, they're in search of 200 to 300 volunteers to deliver meals, especially in central Tampa and the Riverview/Gibsonton area. Between the COVID pandemic crunching out volunteer workers and high gas prices, it's dug a deeper hole to fill for Meals on Wheels.
If you're interested in becoming a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, click here.
It's a need felt across the Tampa Bay area. Meals on Wheels in Tampa serves about a thousand people each day, but even more than that over the last year. They've helped more than 2,200 people. Many recipients are living with two or more chronic illnesses and often live alone.