‘Blizzard Bag’ party readies meals for the homebound

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com

On the heels of the Mon Valley’s first significant snowfall of the season Tuesday, McKeesport Meals on Wheels volunteers and staff on Wednesday worked to make sure clients will still have something to eat in the event of a snowstorm or blizzard.
Thanks to generous donations from the Mon River Fleet Lions Club, McKeesport MOW was able to pack “Blizzard Bags,” for elderly and homebound clients in the event volunteers can’t deliver daily meals due to dangerous weather conditions. The Blizzard Bags were packed with cereal, canned soup and other canned goods, fruit cups, crackers and other non-perishable foods.
McKeesport Meals on Wheels coordinator Rose Marshall said the Mon River Fleet Lions have made several monetary donations in recent months. The Lions donated many of the food products placed in the Blizzard Bags and worked alongside McKeesport Meals on Wheels volunteers Wednesday to pack them. The volunteers followed all COVID-19 safety protocols.
Marshall said McKeesport Meals on Wheels serves anywhere from 85 to 100 clients a day.
Meals on Wheels Treasurer and Fleet Lion Helen Stratigos said packing the Blizzard Bags is an annual winter tradition at the McKeesport Meals on Wheels kitchen, located in the basement of First United Methodist Church on Cornell Street in McKeesport.
“We do this every year at this time,” she said. “We do it in the event that there is a snowstorm where we can’t deliver. This way, they have a back-up plan.”
Marshall said it warms her heart to see other area organizations reaching out to help other community-minded organizations with a meaningful goal.
“I think it’s nice to see the organizations working together to help the community,” she said. “This is a strong community and we all come together to help one another.”
“We really appreciate all the Mon River Fleet Lions have done,” Stratigos said. “We’re a nonprofit, non-contract kitchen. In other words, we get no help from the federal government, so we appreciate any help that is offered to us.”
Marshall said she also wants to give a special shout-out to McKeesport Meals on Wheels volunteers.

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