1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should know from house stuff Works 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: There's Charles w Chuck Bryant's just the two of us. 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: Today we had guest producer Tyler and here for a second. 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: He pressed your cord and left and it's just us. 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: It's cool. One of us needs to get our index 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: finger working so we can do that. Well. Remember we 8 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: used to say we were going to replace Jerry with 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: one of those dipping birds. Yeah, is that what they're called? 10 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: Dipping birds? Don't know, I just I just remember my 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: grandmother had one where the bird would dip its beak 12 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: in the water. All we have to do is arrange 13 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: it so we can press the space bar. Uh. Well, 14 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: we should be better than this, Chuck, because this is 15 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: a very nice, wonderful humane episode. Humane and human even 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: and human and it ties. Yeah, this is one of 17 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: our what we like to do, a little awareness shows 18 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: every now and then and meals on wheels, which, by 19 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: the way, for the past two days in my head, 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: I've been going meals on wheels. What is that? You remember? 21 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: It may have been a local thing when I was 22 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: a kid. That was a thing it was called World 23 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: of Wheels. It was like, I don't know if it 24 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: was a car show or like one of those monster 25 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: truck things, but it was. That's what they used to do, 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: is World of Wheels. I got you. That's funny you 27 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: say that, because I've had my own thing in my head. 28 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 1: There was a thrill Kill Cult song that was in 29 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: the movie Cool World called Sex on Wheels. So I've 30 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: been going meals on wheels, meals on whales, that's been 31 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: That's weird though, that we each have just kind of 32 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: had some weird loop in our heads. Maybe that helps 33 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: us research maybe and maybe meals on eels And we'll 34 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: get to the funding part of it at the end. 35 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: But maybe they would have better chances getting federal funding 36 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: if they had a cool theme song. Yeah, like by 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: the thrill Kill culture. That would surprise everybody, I think. So. 38 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: So we are talking meals on wheels today just just 39 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: to do our do diligence upfront. We just want to 40 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: tell everybody in case you don't know what that is, 41 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: but I'm sure most people do. Meals on wheels is 42 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: a meal delivery program here in the States and Canada, Australia. 43 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: I think it's all over the place where if you 44 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: are usually if you're a senior citizen, senior adult not 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,839 Speaker 1: quite sure what they go by these days, and you 46 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: are homebound basically where you're able to care for yourself 47 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: in your home, but you're getting up there in years 48 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: and you haven't um gone into an assistant care facility, 49 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: but you're still you don't have a out of contact, 50 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: you might not have family around. What Meals on Wheels 51 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: does is they bring you a meal once a day, 52 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: five days a week. She'll lunch and uh say, hey, 53 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: how are you doing. Feeling good? Good? Okay, well we'll 54 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,239 Speaker 1: see tomorrow. Enjoy your meal and um. Just that little 55 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: simple act of doing that, just apparently in research bears 56 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: this out completely changes the life and and extends the 57 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,679 Speaker 1: life expectancy of people in that situation. Yeah, and it's 58 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: not just uh, I mean, we'll get to some of 59 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: the other things they do. But the main three pronged 60 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: reason for the home visit is the meal, like you said, 61 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: the visit, and then the final thing is the safety 62 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: check component, which is geez, uh, mr muldoon, you have 63 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: a wire hanging out of your wall. Uh, and it's sparking, 64 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: So let me see if I can get some help 65 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: with you, get some help for you on that, sir, 66 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: right exactly, that that could that could turn bad on 67 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: you exactly. So there's this there's this whole idea that 68 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: just by showing up at somebody's house with a meal, um, 69 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: you can you can just really vastly help improve their lives. 70 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: And when I think about like meals on wheels or 71 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: when I researched this stuff, it's like there's no like, 72 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: if you if you've lost faith in humanity, just look 73 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: into meals on wheels like it. It it cancels out 74 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: so much bad in the world, you know, and it 75 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: takes like this this population that here in the West, 76 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: Like it's very easy to become disconnected from your family 77 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: because you're you're offspring. Your kids as some people call them, 78 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: they grow up, they get their own jobs, they move 79 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: around where highly mobile culture Western civilization is um and 80 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: you can find yourself basically alone. Like if you're friends 81 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 1: with your neighbor and your neighbor dies or moves away, 82 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: you don't know the new younger neighbors, maybe they don't 83 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: care about you. Um, you can find yourself isolated and 84 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: being socially isolated is a huge problem. So the idea 85 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: that there's people out there who are strangers to you, 86 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 1: who will come to your house and bring you a 87 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: meal to make sure you're taken care of. That's there's 88 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: humanity right there. In a nutshell. Yeah, we had Um 89 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: she's moved away now, but are are older? Um and jeez, 90 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: I had no idea how old she was. She was 91 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: one of those ladies, Miss Jesse, our neighbor, who could 92 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: have been seventy or a hundred and six. I have 93 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: no idea. Is she the one with the goats? No? No, no, 94 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: we fed the goats again this morning. By the way, 95 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: Um No. Miss Jesse and Mr Otis lived next door. 96 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: Mr Otis had daily dialysis passed away um, which was 97 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: very sad because he was just great. Um. But Miss 98 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: Jesse was really nice. It took us a little while 99 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: to earn her trust. But um, she had her daughter Connie. 100 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: He would come by and get her what she needs 101 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:51,919 Speaker 1: and bring your groceries. But we would always offer, you know, 102 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: we're going to store. Miss Jesse need anything, and she 103 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: would never take us up on it. But I think 104 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,480 Speaker 1: just us talking to her on a daily basis because 105 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: she was one of these that would like you know, 106 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: she she would open the blinds every time she heard 107 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: a noise in the neighborhood. She was very on it, 108 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,119 Speaker 1: which was great for when we went out town because 109 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: Miss Jesse was the best like watchdog you could asked for. 110 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: Did she give you a list of like teenagers that 111 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: she spotted while you were gone whenever you return home. No, 112 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: she just said that that ne'er do well, that guy 113 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: is up to no good. Anyway, She's a very sweet lady, 114 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: and I think eventually we earned her trust, and I 115 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: really got the sense that just us having a conversation 116 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: with her from for five minutes getting out of the 117 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: car meant a lot to her. Um, that's apparently what 118 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: the research shows that that kind of thing has a 119 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: pronounced impact on the life of somebody who has become 120 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: socially isolated. But she moved away. Yeah, she's like nuts 121 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: to those two. Yeah, someone bought her house. Uh, but 122 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 1: she's you know, she's doing great. The good end of 123 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: that story. She did not pass away. She moved away, right, gotcha? 124 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: So where did she move? Did she moved to an 125 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: assistant care facility? And she moved into an other house. 126 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: Does she moved in with her daughter. I think she 127 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 1: may have moved in with her daughter. But it was funny, 128 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: like she meant a lot to us, but it was 129 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: sort of like so long, suckers, we didn't get it. 130 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: Wasn't that like a cheerful goodbye. All of a sudden, 131 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: we're like you're moving. She's like, yep, sold my house 132 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: and she was out of there right, So shuts the 133 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: U haul gets in, flips you the bird on the way. Yeah. 134 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: So well then this one's for miss Jesse. Yeah there 135 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: you go. Um okay, so well, let's talk a little 136 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,679 Speaker 1: bit of history. It's about meals on wheels because despite 137 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: how utterly human it is, um, it was started by robots. 138 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: It was robots who are trying to win us over 139 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: before they take over. Very strange, um the the it 140 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: hasn't been around for as long as you think, although 141 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: I think that it came about right around the time 142 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: when the need first arose because I was doing some 143 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: research and it seems like with industrialization and the rise 144 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: of like factory work, that is are a lot of 145 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: the the schism between our traditional society that was usually 146 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: a grarian based and this new modern society we live 147 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: in really began, and around that time is probably when 148 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: you would have started to have found some isolated seniors, 149 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: is like a growing population. Yeah, that makes sense because 150 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: I found it interesting that, uh, and we'll dig into 151 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: the history here, but I found it interesting that it 152 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: seemed to pop up within about a fifteen year period 153 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: in many countries around the world, and not because they 154 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: had heard of it. You know, It's not like they 155 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: read on the internet in nineteen fifty four that hey, 156 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: someone in England is doing this. So it I think 157 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: that has a lot of merit to it, that the 158 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: need was there kind of all at the same time, 159 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: yeah and all. Yeah, and it also kind of underscores 160 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: just how basically human and idea this is. You know, Alright, 161 00:08:53,679 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 1: so World War two raging England, being bombed, neighborhood and 162 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: regions being devastated. Uh, it became clear that people, you know, 163 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 1: like literally just their home or kitchen were destroyed, so 164 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,439 Speaker 1: they couldn't do simple things like cook the meals they're 165 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: used to providing for their family. The Woman's Volunteer Service 166 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: for Civil Defense came around and they said, you know what, 167 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: we're gonna start delivering some some meals, some home cooked 168 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: meals to people that whose houses have been devastated, who 169 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: can't cook for themselves right now. They delivered them at 170 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: first in baby carriages, which is where the that's the wheels, 171 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: that's where it came from. Yeah, that that's what everybody 172 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: around town called it. Um. They called it meals on wheels, 173 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: pretty neat. It was just just the It was not 174 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: capitalized or anything like that. It was just kind of 175 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: like the the slang term what the cool kids called. 176 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: About ten years later or so in Philly, uh in Pennsylvania, 177 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: woman named Margaret Toy who became the first director of 178 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: Meals on Wheels in the United States, she organized something 179 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: called the Platter Angels and just by coincidence, there were 180 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: some British students in Philly doing some social work at 181 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: a community center where Mrs Toy volunteered, and they said, hey, 182 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: this is a lot like what we've got going on 183 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: in England with the Meals on wheels. Ditch that platter 184 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: angles angles angles there thinking of Joseph Angles. Ditch the 185 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: Platter Angels name and call it meals on wheels. And 186 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:27,599 Speaker 1: I don't think they said ditch that name, but the 187 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: does would be some pushy exchange theory. Uh you know 188 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: those pushy British exchange students. They're the worst state. Surrounded 189 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,680 Speaker 1: poor Mrs Toy and like poked her in the shoulder 190 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: and like blue cigarettes smoke in our face. Hey, platter 191 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 1: angel right out of her hand. So that's how it 192 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: became meals on Wheels in the United States. And then 193 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: over the next like twenty and thirty years in the 194 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: US they started popping up all over the place. They did. 195 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: And here's what you're kind of referring to earlier. So 196 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: that was that same year in September in Um, South Australia, 197 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 1: which is where Adelaide is. Shout out to Adelaide where 198 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:15,439 Speaker 1: the summerton man is from, right, Um, a woman named 199 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: Doris Taylor came up with the same exact thing, and 200 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: from what I understand, called it meals on wheels as well. 201 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: Is that correct? Yeah? She was something else man Um. 202 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: She was disabled. The best I can discern is she 203 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: had a fall when she was seven which gave her 204 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: a limp, and then another fall when she was eleven 205 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: that paralyzed her from the waist down permanently. Like that 206 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: was it. That was it. She was wheelchair bound from 207 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 1: that point on. Yep, from that point on, and despite 208 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: the fact that as an eleven year old in a 209 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,319 Speaker 1: wheelchair for life, she had a big heart and and 210 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,839 Speaker 1: realized that there was a need to provide for people 211 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,840 Speaker 1: in her community, just like was was going on in 212 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: American Britain, and said, hey, what about bringing a meal 213 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: to people? And then in September, like you said, meals 214 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: on wheels of South Australia, Uh, which I had to 215 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 1: look up on a map. I figured it was in 216 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: the South. Yeah, and in Australia it is. But it's 217 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: a big chunk um, a big chunk of land at least, 218 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: I don't know how populated it is. Well, if Adelaide's there, 219 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: it's great. Well, yeah, of course it is. But that 220 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 1: has grown. She actually lived long enough to see that 221 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: grow into a huge organization. And um, I don't know, 222 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: they have these all over the world and all over 223 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: the country here in America. But we just wanted to 224 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 1: shout her out specifically for you know, being disabled herself 225 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: and and going on to do like just this amazing thing. 226 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: It's it's pretty remarkable. Yeah, And and so you think, like, okay, 227 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: big deal, she's a wheelchair abound and she can she 228 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 1: can use her arms, she can juggle that kind of stuff. Nope, 229 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: she had rheumatoid arthritis, crippling rheumatoid arthritis on top of 230 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:02,559 Speaker 1: all of the us and so she was just basically 231 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: she had no use of any of her limbs and 232 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: she still was out there raising like she had. She 233 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: used her mind too to get other people to get 234 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,679 Speaker 1: off their duffs and help people less fortunate she was. 235 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,360 Speaker 1: She was an amazing person. It's pretty great. Five thousand 236 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 1: clients in South Australia now ninety branches. Uh and this 237 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,719 Speaker 1: is all because of Doris Taylor and then Chuck. So 238 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: speaking of South Australia, you were you were onto something 239 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: huge chunk land, not very populated. Adelaide is the capital 240 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: with just under one and a half million people, and 241 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: that's the population of South Australia as a whole. Well, 242 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 1: there you have it. There's a lot of unused land there. 243 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: Should we take a break? Oh sure, all right, let's 244 00:13:47,840 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: do it. Okay, So meals on wheels starts springing up 245 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: as like these community programs all over the world. Right, 246 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: just because there's a few spiritually aligned do gooders out 247 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: there who have this good idea, and it just spreads 248 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: and spreads and spreads. But the thing that they have 249 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: in common, aside from the basic we bring a meal 250 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: once a day to someone who can't get out of 251 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:36,359 Speaker 1: their house, they also had in common that they were community, 252 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: grassroots organizations. That's how they that's how they operated, that's 253 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: how they were funded. That was it, and that was 254 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: the case until I believe nineteen with the Older Americans Act, 255 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: when the FEDS finally said, all right, okay, a good 256 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,400 Speaker 1: idea is a good idea, we'll cough up some money 257 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: for your Meals on wheels programs. And it's been that 258 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: way ever since. Customarily, the Older Americans Act provides about 259 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: thirty percent of funding for the Meals on Wheels programs 260 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: in America, I should say, and then the rest. It's 261 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 1: like it's an early public part private partnership, where the 262 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: rest is meant to come from state and local governments, 263 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: private donations, foundations, grants, wherever they can get money from. 264 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: But the the the Meals on Wheels program is meant, 265 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: ever since nineteen sixty five in the US, to have 266 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: been able to rely on over a third of its 267 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 1: annual budget coming from the US government to provide that 268 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: foundation so they can get the rest. Yeah, so that, 269 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: like you said, is specifically because the O A A 270 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: and delivered through the Office of Health and Human Services 271 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: and got a shout out corporate donations because I feel 272 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: like they, you know, people like to bag on big corporations, 273 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: but um, part of their funding does come from corporations 274 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: chipping in. And then you talked about grants. There are 275 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: three specific uh block grant programs. Uh the Community Development 276 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: Block grant, the Social Services Block grant, and Community Services 277 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: Block Grant. And just put a pin in that because 278 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,800 Speaker 1: that will come up again later. So um, again, the 279 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: most of the funding comes from things other than the 280 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: federal government, right, And and that there's another way that 281 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 1: these this program is funded and this is kind of 282 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: surprising to me, but it's from the people who are 283 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: the recipients of this aid as well. It is and 284 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,160 Speaker 1: this is actually another Doris Taylor innovation, at least in Australia. 285 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: Before it was well you're this is charity, so here 286 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: just take this, she was like, yes, we're gonna incorporate volunteers, 287 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: and the volunteers don't need to be paid obviously, but 288 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: we still need to pay for the food. We still 289 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: need to pay workers to prepare the meals, and so 290 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 1: obviously some of that could be donated, but yeah, sure 291 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: not all of it. You just can't rely on that 292 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: always to be donated. You could kind of always rely 293 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 1: that there's gonna be somebody there who will fill in 294 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: for somebody who didn't show up that day in meal delivery, right, 295 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: or you can go do that yourself. But the more 296 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 1: skilled stuff, you need to be able to pay somebody 297 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: so that they will show up and do this stuff. Right. 298 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: So the idea of having the people who can afford 299 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: it pay for the meal, UM, that's that is kind 300 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,479 Speaker 1: of innovative and it helps keep the program going. The 301 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:28,360 Speaker 1: thing is is if you can't pay for the meal 302 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: you get that you get it for free. Well, and 303 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,879 Speaker 1: then there's a that's a continuum. There's a sliding scale 304 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: between I can I can I can afford a little 305 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: bit for this meal, um, here's here's some and then 306 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: I think the people who are able to physically able to, 307 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: but are financially unable to afford a meal UM are 308 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: asked to volunteer to be a part of the Meals 309 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,120 Speaker 1: on Wheels program. Themselves. Yeah, I'm a big You can 310 00:17:55,119 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: call me an old hippie if you want, but the 311 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: sliding scale is one of my favorite things. An old 312 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: hippies like the sliding scale, sure, man, like everything from 313 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: I mean when I was a young, broke mid twenties 314 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: something and I wanted to go to a shrink, they 315 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: you know, I found a shrink at a sliding scale. 316 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: Like there are people out there to be like, you know, what, 317 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: what can you what can you pay? Right? And it 318 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: wasn't some government program, it was a private uh therapist. 319 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,679 Speaker 1: And this is across the board. There are all sorts 320 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: of people who offer sliding scales, like you know, meals 321 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 1: of wheels. If you can pay a dollar, then that helps. 322 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: If you can't pay anything, we'll give it to you 323 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 1: if you can pay full price. I didn't see what 324 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: full price was for a meal on wheel. I saw 325 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: somewhere and this is a just a meals on wheels 326 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: um Like a volunteer who wrote something on Vox said 327 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: that they they are usually about two dollars and five cents. 328 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: That's full price, yeah, man, which is ridiculously low. Well yeah, 329 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: because I guess they're only paying for food costs. And 330 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: they're getting bulk you know, they're getting gallons of mayonnaise 331 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: at the warehouse. Yeah, you know, yeah, but you have 332 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: to order about ten overage for mayonnaise to to cover 333 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: shrinkage because everybody's always got their fingers in the man 334 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,159 Speaker 1: is joke as they're walking in and out of the kitchen. 335 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: You know. That's what Pappy used to say, That's what 336 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: Mr Otis always said. He probably did so. Um, so 337 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,440 Speaker 1: there is there is, there's money. There's financial contributions involved. 338 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 1: But for the most part um the being a part 339 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 1: of meals on Wheels as a recipient, it's based entirely 340 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 1: on need. And I think the first thing that they 341 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: look at is your medical need, right, yeah, so how 342 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,160 Speaker 1: how able are you to get around your house? How 343 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:54,719 Speaker 1: able are you? And this is a this is one 344 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,159 Speaker 1: I hadn't thought of, But I'm like, Okay, well you 345 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:58,719 Speaker 1: can get up and get around your house, you can 346 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: cook for yourself. Can you also go to the grocery store? Huge? 347 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: Huge one. So you may be physically able to, um, 348 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 1: hang out in your house and you know, maybe play canasta, 349 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: do whatever. But but getting to like, let's say you 350 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,360 Speaker 1: lost your driver's license or you don't have a car 351 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: any longer, or or it's just getting to the grocery 352 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: store and shopping and then getting back is just way 353 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: too much. Um, you would probably qualify to be a 354 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: Meals on Wheels recipient, right yeah. I mean there's a 355 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: range of people like they also have uh like centers 356 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: where they feed a lot of people like in a 357 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: cafeteria setting, and they encourage you if you can get out, 358 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: you can still get your your really nutritious. Because I 359 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 1: don't think we've said that yet, but that goes without 360 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:48,880 Speaker 1: saying these meals are specifically catered to the needs of 361 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: the elderly, right yeah. I think ever since nineteen two, 362 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: there was like an amendment maybe to the Older Americans 363 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: Act that said, maybe get those those um single cigarettes 364 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,919 Speaker 1: out of that tray that you're bringing to the to 365 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 1: the older seniors. Let's actually make this like like a 366 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: nutritious meal. Yeah, so you can go to a place 367 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: and eat with a bunch of other people like you 368 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,000 Speaker 1: and have a good conversation if you can get out 369 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: of the house. But the real focus in the core 370 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,120 Speaker 1: of the program are those we call them shut ins 371 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,240 Speaker 1: at our church. I don't know if that's a I 372 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: think homebound is what they normally call them. Yeah, I 373 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 1: think that's probably an antiquated Southern Baptist term, right, But 374 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: we would deliver meals to shut ins through our church. 375 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: It wasn't like Meals on Wheels. And there are plenty 376 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 1: of other programs that do this, but Meals on Wheels 377 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:39,920 Speaker 1: is definitely the biggest and broad ut. Yeah, I get 378 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,680 Speaker 1: the impression to that Meals on Wheels is in particularly 379 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: concerned by competition. No, I don't think they're like, okay, 380 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: as fine as long as everybody's getting their their meals. So, um, 381 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: let's say you you are you qualify medically as somebody 382 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: who is a Meals on Wheels recipient. Um, next they 383 00:21:57,680 --> 00:21:59,679 Speaker 1: would look at your finances, what can you for? What 384 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: can't afford? And they're not going to like go through 385 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: and dig dig through your check. They say, hey, give 386 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: me a wallet, right right, let me see what's in there. Yeah, 387 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: you go to grab it from and they just put 388 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,919 Speaker 1: their palm on your forehead and hold you back right. No, 389 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,679 Speaker 1: they're not gonna do anything like that. They're going to 390 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: just ask you like what can you afford or what 391 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: are you living on a month? How much extra income 392 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,359 Speaker 1: maybe do you have. That's probably going to be the 393 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: extent of it. I get the impression that it's largely 394 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,679 Speaker 1: an honor system kind of thing, right, and then if 395 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: you if if you're like I just can't afford it, 396 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: they'll say okay, great. Um. Depending on where you live, 397 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: you will either be put into the rotation or you'll 398 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: be putting sadly on a waiting list. And if you're 399 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: put on a waiting list, there's you. You might be 400 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: waiting a little while before they can include you. The 401 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 1: whole reason anybody would put you on a waiting list 402 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: is funding. And we'll talk about funding later on. Um, 403 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 1: let's stick to the good stuff right now. Yeah. So 404 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,160 Speaker 1: the meals that you're getting are or they're delivering, can 405 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: be hot meals, they can be cold meals. They can 406 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: be frozen if that's what you want. If you don't 407 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,640 Speaker 1: want to eat it, right then, uh, they can be 408 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:12,200 Speaker 1: shelf stable or canned. Um. If you live way out 409 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: in the sticks, you can probably arrange to have like 410 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: a week's worth of meals delivered frozen. They really try 411 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,919 Speaker 1: to work with you because they try to, I mean, 412 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 1: their goal is to say that there is no community 413 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 1: in the United States that we cannot serve right. Yeah, 414 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: I think if you like live out in remote Alaska, 415 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: they're they're gonna be like, can we just bring you 416 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: a week's worth of frozen meals? Can we just drop 417 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 1: an elk off on your front porch and a buck 418 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 1: knife and a buck knife that's right? And you'll say, yeah, 419 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: that'd be great. Well, the rural Alaskan, elderly Alaska would say, well, 420 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 1: I'll just put it with my other nineteen buck knives 421 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: and my other three elk and they would say, whoa, whoa, whoa, 422 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: you got that many elk We're gonna share it with 423 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: the rest of the community. And you'll say, uh, that's 424 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:06,360 Speaker 1: wealth distribution New socialists. So here's one interesting stat though 425 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: that I saw that um less than five percent there's 426 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: an estimate, but less than five percent of eligible older 427 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: Americans receive meals, and that on average they received less 428 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:19,639 Speaker 1: than three meals per week. Man, that is that is sad. 429 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: It is sad. And I don't know if that's is 430 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: that because they can't the program can't be robust enough. 431 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: I'm sure there's a million different factors involved, but I 432 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 1: would I would be very surprised that the leading factor 433 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: was not funding. Yeah, because there seems to very much 434 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 1: be a will. There seems to be a pretty great system, 435 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 1: decades old system in place the through communities throughout the 436 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,200 Speaker 1: uh the country. Um, I would guess that it's just 437 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: having enough money to add another person to the list, 438 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,679 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, well that's a sad wait list, I 439 00:24:54,680 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: would guess. Also, volunteer volunteers are They're probably another fact 440 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,880 Speaker 1: after as well. I was looking into volunteering. Actually after 441 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: doing this research, I was like, man, that's because not 442 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,360 Speaker 1: only do I want to teach, Like having a kid 443 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,600 Speaker 1: really can inspire you to be a better person because 444 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: you start to think, oh, well they're gonna be looking 445 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: to me and what I do. Uh. And it's great 446 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: to donate money to stuff, which is we're good about. 447 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: But volunteerism is a really big thing that I think 448 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 1: not enough people do and I certainly didn't do enough 449 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: of that. I'm going to try and teach is an 450 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:37,679 Speaker 1: example going forward, Like man hours person hours is vital 451 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,679 Speaker 1: to every program like this in the world. Yeah, Like 452 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: money is one thing, and funding is super important, but 453 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: it goes lockstep with people showing up and saying I 454 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: will help you do this. Yes, yes, that is what 455 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 1: Well put Chuck Well put man, because yes, donating money 456 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: is great. You could be like, wow, we've got ten 457 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 1: thousand meals, but they're all just sitting here rotting because 458 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 1: we don't have anybody to deliver all of them. It 459 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: is very important. Emily did it in high school. Actually, 460 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: oh yeah, I'm totally not surprised. Meals on wheels. Yeah 461 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: she did. She's a candy striper and died meals on 462 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: wheels and um, she said it was tough. You know, 463 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,479 Speaker 1: sometimes this is the only human contact these people have 464 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,880 Speaker 1: in a day. Uh, And she said it and she 465 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 1: really takes stuff on emotionally and it's hard for her. 466 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,080 Speaker 1: And she said as an adult, she said, I don't 467 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:29,199 Speaker 1: know if I would be able to do that, Like 468 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 1: I'm gonna try something else. But she said, all I 469 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 1: would think about is I need to help that one person. 470 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:37,919 Speaker 1: I need to like try and help like move them 471 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: into a different house or and then the next person 472 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: and the next person exactly. But she said, it's it's 473 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: tough to Um, you know a lot of these are 474 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,680 Speaker 1: very very sad cases. And if you have in your mind, 475 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: like you know, I just whistle zippity dude on bounce 476 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: around the neighborhoods and drop off meals and have a 477 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,480 Speaker 1: quick chat. I mean it can be that, but it's 478 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: it takes an emotional toll. So like hats off to 479 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:06,199 Speaker 1: people who are able to do this and put it 480 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 1: in the right place in their own emotional life, right, right. So, 481 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: so any anyone can be a Meals on Wheels volunteer, right, 482 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: no matter how emotionally invested you are in other humans. 483 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: And the reason why anybody can do this is because 484 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: Meals on Wheels. Well, we've we neglected to say there 485 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: is an organization called Meals on Wheels of America and 486 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 1: they are basically like the the lobbying central umbrella unit 487 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,359 Speaker 1: of all the independent Meals on Wheels programs. There's like 488 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:39,919 Speaker 1: five thousand of them around the country. Right, So they 489 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 1: do advocacy, they issue grants, they figure out best practices, 490 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,680 Speaker 1: and one of the things they've said is like here 491 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: is what you as a volunteer should expect. Right, Yes, 492 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,960 Speaker 1: you're going to be confronted by people you want to help, 493 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: but all you have to do is like all that's 494 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: expected of you, and you can you can get as 495 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:02,440 Speaker 1: involved in invested as you want, but all that expected 496 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,919 Speaker 1: of you, and it is enough to to bring a 497 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: meal to this person's house, say hey, how are you doing? 498 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: Good to see you. You're looking fine today, um, and 499 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: I'll see you tomorrow. You take care of yourself, see 500 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: you tomorrow. That that they've figured out that that is 501 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,760 Speaker 1: enough to keep people from being completely disconnected from society. 502 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 1: And again, the food that you're bringing them is is 503 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,879 Speaker 1: helping keep keep them alive. I read that something like 504 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 1: three thousand to five thousand seniors in America die of 505 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: malnutrition every year every year. This is not like a 506 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:44,200 Speaker 1: nineteen seventeen statistics, this is this is this year. Um. 507 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: So the actually it was based on two thousand and 508 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: six data. I can't imagine it's gotten too terribly much better. 509 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: But the fact is that if you volunteer just doing 510 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: those those basic things, it's it's enough to have a 511 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: major impact in the life of somebody. Me. Do you 512 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: want to take another break? Yeah, let's all right. We're 513 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: gonna go deliver three meals and we'll be back right 514 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: after this. You know, I'm glad you said that before 515 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: break about this is like what all you have to 516 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: do because I didn't want to scare people off by 517 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 1: volunteering because of Emily's taking things on emotionally, Like, there 518 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: are people that are will do a great job going 519 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:53,760 Speaker 1: out there checking in on people and can successfully do that. 520 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: Does that make sense? Oh? Yeah, totally. And I'm sure 521 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 1: like and I'm sure Emily would would tell you that 522 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: there's probably probably recipients out there you're like, good lord, 523 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: that person is a jerk, or this person is sweeter 524 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,320 Speaker 1: than that person, or this person is really easy to 525 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: talk to, Like I'm sure just the experience on both 526 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: sides is different for each interaction as well. For sure. Yeah, 527 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 1: I think that was that was worth saying. For sure, 528 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: there's that we should just say though when we were 529 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaker 1: talking about what you're expected to do, So there's basically 530 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: three things you are doing just by visiting. And they 531 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: said that they can, um, they can arrange your your 532 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:33,720 Speaker 1: Meals on Wheels volunteer schedule. If you want to volunteer, 533 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:35,719 Speaker 1: just go look up Meals on Wheels America and they 534 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: will connect you to whoever's got a program going in 535 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: your community. It's easy as pie. Um. They they will 536 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: whatever your schedule allows. That's great, they'll take it. That 537 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: would be fine for them if it's like, call me 538 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 1: if you need somebody to fill in, or I can 539 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:53,720 Speaker 1: do this once a week, or I can do this 540 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: once a month, or I can do this five days 541 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:58,400 Speaker 1: a week. Um. What they typically say is, you don't 542 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: have to um be independently wealthy, you don't have to 543 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: be unemployed. You you can do this on and typically 544 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: if you have an hour and a half for lunch break, 545 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 1: they they can put you on a meals on Wheels route. Yeah, 546 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: and they typically try to fit the meal deliveries into 547 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 1: that lunch break and it's a mid day delivery. But 548 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 1: if you're like, man, I can't get away from my job, 549 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: so sorry, I can't help you, They'll say, no, no, 550 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: no, no no, We'll find something for you to do after hours. 551 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: There are there are always plenty of things to do, 552 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,880 Speaker 1: whether it's helping out in the warehouse or if you 553 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: want to volunteer in the kitchen. You can do stuff 554 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,200 Speaker 1: like that too. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Especially I would 555 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: guess if you have like food prep experience, like like 556 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 1: actual experience, they would probably say, yes, I'm sure there 557 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,800 Speaker 1: is a need for that. Ye. So volunteering is very easy. 558 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: The program is really good. What you're doing again is 559 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: you're showing up with a good meal. U is usually 560 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: I saw somewhere. It's like a third of of UM 561 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 1: the daily calories of people who are receiving the meal UM. 562 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 1: And just that alone is worth bringing a meal for, 563 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: even if it's the biggest jerk in the world or 564 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: you're the biggest misanthrope in the world. Just giving them 565 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: this meal can do things like help them recover from 566 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:18,280 Speaker 1: disease faster, illnesses or conditions faster, UM keep them mentally acute. 567 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: There's a lot of just benefits to having like nutrition 568 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,320 Speaker 1: on a daily basis that you take for granted because 569 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: you can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich like 570 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:30,600 Speaker 1: it's nothing. But imagine if you can't make it to 571 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: the story to get peanut butter or jelly, or your 572 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: handshake too bad to to spread the peanut butter the 573 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,080 Speaker 1: jelly to to be able to have that meal. That 574 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: alone does it, right. But then the fact that they 575 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:44,920 Speaker 1: added in these other two layers, that there's the UM, 576 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,480 Speaker 1: like keeping social isolation at bay what they call UM 577 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: and meals on wheels, just a friendly visit where you're 578 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:54,960 Speaker 1: to chatting saying Hi, how's the weather. You don't have 579 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 1: to be a particularly great conversationalist, but just saying to 580 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 1: say hi basically, and then you know, asking if they 581 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 1: need anything, looking around, making sure that they haven't fallen 582 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: is a big one. Like just just keeping tabs on 583 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: this person five days a week. Just having people who 584 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 1: are going to their house that it's going to cut 585 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 1: down in the amount of time between something happening to 586 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: them like a fall and somebody noticing that they they're 587 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,800 Speaker 1: not answering their door any longer. Yeah, and that's not all. 588 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 1: I didn't realize this, but there are and because there 589 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: are more than five thousand UM Meals on Wheels programs 590 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,760 Speaker 1: in the United States, it really varies per community as 591 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 1: to what it's like, but they all fall under that banner. 592 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,280 Speaker 1: But in some programs you can get pet food delivered 593 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:46,720 Speaker 1: for your cat UM. Sometimes they can offer home repair services. 594 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 1: Sometimes they can UM offer transportation services if you have 595 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: to go the doctor h if there's bad weather coming up, 596 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:58,360 Speaker 1: you can get emergency meals UM. They're they're just all 597 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: sort of like hospital discharge pro rams UH to reduce 598 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 1: readmissions there. Sometimes they have gardens that they grow their own, 599 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: like the Meals on Wheels garden will grow vegetables, um right, 600 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,759 Speaker 1: that they can. You know, it's like a farm to 601 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 1: table meal delivered to your own right exactly. You're like, 602 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:23,160 Speaker 1: I've had better buck choy, but thank you. So it's 603 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: pretty cool, man. I mean it's hard to uh, there's 604 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 1: so many great organizations in the world that help people, 605 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:30,879 Speaker 1: but Meals on Wheels is like they're really up there. 606 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 1: I agree wholeheartedly. So um there, if you talk to 607 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:39,160 Speaker 1: anybody in Meals on Wheels or anybody that has anything 608 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:42,319 Speaker 1: to do with aging, they will they will. You'll find 609 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 1: that they're like biting their nails and looking around nervously 610 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,080 Speaker 1: while they're talking to you. And the reason why is 611 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:52,319 Speaker 1: because remember the baby boom that happened after World War Two, 612 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,800 Speaker 1: and then we did and they turned into hippies, and 613 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,800 Speaker 1: then they turned into stockbrokers, and then they turned into 614 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,399 Speaker 1: um kind of oren again hippies a little bit after 615 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,239 Speaker 1: they made their millions. Well now they're just they're they're 616 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:09,520 Speaker 1: they're the biggest population in the country and there um 617 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,480 Speaker 1: aging and they're aging fairly fast. And we are not 618 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:17,840 Speaker 1: set up at this moment to handle what's being called 619 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 1: the silver tsunami, this massive influx of aging people into 620 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:29,759 Speaker 1: our economy, into our social structures, into UM needing social services, 621 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:34,280 Speaker 1: needing healthcare were we might be set up for it, maybe, 622 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:38,080 Speaker 1: but we're certainly not funding it correctly. And one of 623 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,520 Speaker 1: the programs that is really poised to take a big 624 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,880 Speaker 1: hit is Meals on Wheels. Yeah, so are we gonna 625 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 1: go with the funding talk here? I think so. Uh. 626 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,200 Speaker 1: March of two thousand seventeen, there or a bunch of 627 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:57,560 Speaker 1: big headlines made when UM the President's budget chief Mick 628 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: mulvaney said, you know, they released what's called their skinny budget, 629 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,440 Speaker 1: which is basically where everybody can look and see in 630 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 1: a broad sense of what's being funded, what's being cut 631 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:14,280 Speaker 1: as far as their budget goes. And Meals on Wheels 632 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,600 Speaker 1: was was one of the things mentioned, and mcmulvaney said 633 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,840 Speaker 1: that it's a program is one of many that is 634 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:25,760 Speaker 1: just not showing any results. What was his quote, which 635 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:28,400 Speaker 1: is I think they call that foot in mouth disease 636 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:34,040 Speaker 1: because that was a really dumb thing to say, Well, 637 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:37,839 Speaker 1: because yeah, what I want to know is what where 638 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,200 Speaker 1: is he getting that? Like what does that mean? Because 639 00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:44,120 Speaker 1: there are there have been plenty of legit peer reviewed 640 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: studies that that show that meals on wheels is a 641 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:53,640 Speaker 1: very effective program, right because like just almost immediately people 642 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 1: started like tweeting and reporting on studies that show that, um, yeah, 643 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:03,080 Speaker 1: there's that actually really good results from meals on wheels 644 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:08,040 Speaker 1: In addition to just keeping people alive, it's um it 645 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:12,280 Speaker 1: actually is shown to like improve their lifespan, to improve 646 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:18,960 Speaker 1: their nutritional health, to um reduce social isolation. And the 647 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:23,319 Speaker 1: point of it. The biggest result too, is there's this 648 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,920 Speaker 1: big push and there has been for a couple of 649 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,520 Speaker 1: decades now to to get what are called low care 650 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:34,280 Speaker 1: UM Medicaid recipients out of assisted living for a couple 651 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,160 Speaker 1: of reasons. One their low care meaning they can care 652 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,319 Speaker 1: for themselves. They just have been moved into a home 653 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:42,400 Speaker 1: or whatever you want to call it. That's not a 654 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:46,000 Speaker 1: nursing home yet. Assisted living is just basically like you're 655 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:50,120 Speaker 1: you're at like a senior living facility, but it's not 656 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:55,880 Speaker 1: necessarily you're not necessarily receiving nursing care. Right. UM, those 657 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,640 Speaker 1: people who are low care UH senior citizens, they can 658 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:02,600 Speaker 1: live on their own, and if they live on their own, 659 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:09,239 Speaker 1: they cost a lot less to society. Then if they 660 00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:12,200 Speaker 1: were in these assistant care facilities. Now, if you're going 661 00:38:12,239 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: to encourage people to live independently, what's called aging in place, 662 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:18,280 Speaker 1: which means you stay in your home as you age, 663 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:22,440 Speaker 1: you they have to have a lifeline of connection to 664 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:26,840 Speaker 1: the rest of society. And there's a number of different 665 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,480 Speaker 1: programs that the Older Americans Act addresses this through, but 666 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:33,640 Speaker 1: one of them is Meals on Wheels. So if you're 667 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:35,959 Speaker 1: gonna have it one way, you've gotta have the other 668 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,719 Speaker 1: thing too, is the point. Yeah, there's a few um 669 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 1: stats here. Here's one the average cost of a one 670 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:46,760 Speaker 1: month nursing home stay is equivalent to providing home delivered 671 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:51,680 Speaker 1: meals five days a week for seven years uh. And 672 00:38:51,719 --> 00:38:55,800 Speaker 1: another one UH. Two thousand thirteen study from Brown University 673 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 1: said that in most states, increasing Meals on Wheels enrollment 674 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:02,800 Speaker 1: would result in a net savings from decreased Medicaid costs 675 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:07,080 Speaker 1: from nursing home care. And then they found just literally 676 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:10,319 Speaker 1: as far as the health goes uh. They did through 677 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:13,480 Speaker 1: the a ARP they did a study that said that 678 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:17,640 Speaker 1: there were statistically significant differences and health benefits among the 679 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:23,000 Speaker 1: three growth groups of people UM, people who got meal deliveries, 680 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:26,680 Speaker 1: people who didn't and people who were on waiting list 681 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,759 Speaker 1: was that the yep, exactly and basically the people who 682 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:33,640 Speaker 1: had face to face visits, they had the highest gains. 683 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:39,400 Speaker 1: So there is something to this. Another human being touching 684 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,839 Speaker 1: you physically and handing you a meal. Uh and it's 685 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,759 Speaker 1: touching you physically in an appropriate manner. Yeah. Uh So 686 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:50,560 Speaker 1: I did some digging on this this funding because it's 687 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:54,400 Speaker 1: really hard to to go through the web of numbers 688 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 1: on how what a budget cut means. Um So, what 689 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:02,959 Speaker 1: this budget cut is proposed as right off the bat, 690 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,320 Speaker 1: cutting three million dollars from the o A A where 691 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:12,160 Speaker 1: the of the actual federal funding comes from, right, which 692 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:16,279 Speaker 1: is a problem because they need an increase from what 693 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:19,560 Speaker 1: I saw of twelve percent a year, not a decrease 694 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:21,839 Speaker 1: of any kind. Yeah, we should point that out. This 695 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:25,759 Speaker 1: is an organization that already was hurting, right and and 696 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:28,480 Speaker 1: with the silver tsunami coming down the pike, if the 697 00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:32,360 Speaker 1: people who are going to continue to need the expanded 698 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:37,200 Speaker 1: version of meals on wheels, you you need more funding 699 00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:41,000 Speaker 1: and apparently twelve percent increase of years what they're asking for. Right. 700 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:43,319 Speaker 1: So remember earlier I said put a pin in those 701 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:46,880 Speaker 1: three block grants the c d b G, s s 702 00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:50,960 Speaker 1: b G, and the c s b G. Uh, the 703 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:56,000 Speaker 1: Trump budget completely eliminates all three of those, not just 704 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:58,720 Speaker 1: the money, but like there are no more block grants, 705 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,839 Speaker 1: those three gone, right, And there I have to say 706 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:04,680 Speaker 1: there was some pretty poor reporting around that mc mulvaney 707 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:10,240 Speaker 1: press conference because he was largely talking about cutting block grants, 708 00:41:10,239 --> 00:41:13,640 Speaker 1: which is three billion dollars from the federal government. He 709 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,920 Speaker 1: he just decided to use meals on wheels as a 710 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:20,960 Speaker 1: a poster child for the block grants that don't get 711 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:25,040 Speaker 1: results because state, state, and local governments use block grants 712 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:27,839 Speaker 1: to a kind of stuff, all sorts of different things. 713 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:30,520 Speaker 1: One of the things that they customarily using force to 714 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:34,600 Speaker 1: additionally fund local meals on wheels programs. Right, but that 715 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,200 Speaker 1: was just the absolute worst program he could have picked, 716 00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:42,279 Speaker 1: because not only is it like no, it's as they 717 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:45,680 Speaker 1: actually do bring meals to people and keep them alive. 718 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:48,480 Speaker 1: That's the result, number one. But then the fact that 719 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:51,360 Speaker 1: there's all these peer reviewed studies that show like, even 720 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:55,080 Speaker 1: beyond that basis or that basic, that basic need that's 721 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:58,080 Speaker 1: being met, it's better than that. That was just a 722 00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:01,399 Speaker 1: terrible one to pick on. And so trying to find 723 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,080 Speaker 1: out the actual money is is really hard because the 724 00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:06,359 Speaker 1: way it's parched out, like you said, with these plot 725 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:09,680 Speaker 1: grants going in all different directions. But they finally got 726 00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:13,400 Speaker 1: an estimate, they think from a senior Office of Management 727 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:16,080 Speaker 1: and Budget official that it looks like it would be 728 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:20,560 Speaker 1: about forty eight million dollars from that's forty five million 729 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:24,200 Speaker 1: from the block grants and three million dollars from the 730 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:28,080 Speaker 1: oh A A. It's about forty eight million bucks, is 731 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:30,359 Speaker 1: their best guess of what meals on wheels would be 732 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,680 Speaker 1: reduced annually when they needed more money to begin with, 733 00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:39,040 Speaker 1: and it's about a one point four billion dollar annual operations. 734 00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:44,240 Speaker 1: So you can say it's only a three percent cut 735 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:48,319 Speaker 1: in federal funding or an overall funding, but a three 736 00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:50,480 Speaker 1: percent cut when people are on waiting list and they 737 00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:53,399 Speaker 1: needed three I mean, I'm not gonna say a three 738 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,440 Speaker 1: percent increase. Probably needed more than that twelve a year. Oh, 739 00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:58,279 Speaker 1: they needed twelve a year and they're getting a three 740 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:05,040 Speaker 1: percent shortfall cut right. Um. And again when you're talking 741 00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:08,239 Speaker 1: about like figuring out where to put your money, like 742 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:10,960 Speaker 1: I've got another one for you ready for this? You 743 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:13,800 Speaker 1: kind of touched on it. But that so the annual 744 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:17,720 Speaker 1: meal cost according to Meals on Wheels America, the main 745 00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:21,200 Speaker 1: the main group that kind of oversees all the independent groups, 746 00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:29,000 Speaker 1: it's about sixty five dollars for the year. For the year. Okay, 747 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 1: The cost of one day in the hospital, according to 748 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:36,320 Speaker 1: Mathematica Policy Research is no. I'm sorry that Henry J. 749 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:41,480 Speaker 1: Kaiser Family Foundation is seventy for one day in the hospital. Right, 750 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:45,920 Speaker 1: So the idea um that that this isn't cost effective 751 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,359 Speaker 1: is is pretty wrong. And then the other aspect of it, 752 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:51,920 Speaker 1: like the fact that this is that like being able 753 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:54,719 Speaker 1: to stay in your home and age in your home 754 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:59,799 Speaker 1: apparently extends lifespans quite dramatically. I saw one that said 755 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:04,520 Speaker 1: that healthy, active, seventy eight year old person living independently 756 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:09,040 Speaker 1: has a life expectancy of an additional fifteen or more years, 757 00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:14,040 Speaker 1: So ninety three. That's not bad, right, But that when 758 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:17,480 Speaker 1: they enter a long term care facility that life expectancy 759 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:22,200 Speaker 1: decreases automatically by fifty according to this one study. So 760 00:44:22,239 --> 00:44:27,120 Speaker 1: there's there's a really big um. There's good reason to 761 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:29,359 Speaker 1: to let people stay in their homes or help them 762 00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:32,840 Speaker 1: stay in their homes. There's a couple of them. Uh, 763 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,640 Speaker 1: if they want to of course, if they want to 764 00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:39,880 Speaker 1: go live somewhere because there's more um socializing or or 765 00:44:40,239 --> 00:44:42,680 Speaker 1: better food, or who knows, if you want to go 766 00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:45,680 Speaker 1: live in a a secure facility, I say, yes, do that. 767 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:48,719 Speaker 1: I think there should be plenty of choice, plenty of 768 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:51,960 Speaker 1: individual choice, depending on the circumstances and the needs and 769 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:56,839 Speaker 1: the desires of the individual um for our aging population, 770 00:44:57,080 --> 00:45:01,520 Speaker 1: no matter whether they're baby boomers or generation ex eventually whoever. 771 00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:05,120 Speaker 1: I think, once you reach a certain point in your life, 772 00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:08,080 Speaker 1: you've contributed enough and you deserve to be taken care 773 00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:12,239 Speaker 1: of by the rest of us. Agreed. That's that's my 774 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:19,040 Speaker 1: two cents. Yeah, man, do you got anything else? Uh No, 775 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:23,160 Speaker 1: It's just so sad that as you age you should 776 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:27,759 Speaker 1: be able to like have a dignified existence. Still, yeah, 777 00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:32,839 Speaker 1: you know, and not everyone has kids who make enough 778 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:35,400 Speaker 1: money to take care of you or to put you 779 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:40,640 Speaker 1: in the most expensive, really great quality nursing home. Um, 780 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:44,759 Speaker 1: or you might just have terrible kids. That's a good point, 781 00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:48,919 Speaker 1: you know anyway. Yeah, that's all I have to say. So, 782 00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:52,560 Speaker 1: we we were told that meals on Wheels has like 783 00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:56,920 Speaker 1: this big um push going on right now, um, which 784 00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:59,520 Speaker 1: we were like, well, well, we'll release an episode about that. 785 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:04,160 Speaker 1: And because it's good. So they have something called America. 786 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:07,840 Speaker 1: Let's do lunch dot org. I think it's like a 787 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:11,920 Speaker 1: volunteer campaign drive um, and you can also donate to 788 00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:14,040 Speaker 1: you can do both. You can do one, you can 789 00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:17,640 Speaker 1: do the other. Who knows, but do something? How about that? Yeah? 790 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:19,480 Speaker 1: I mean just go to Meals on Wheels America on 791 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:23,839 Speaker 1: the web or America let's do lunch dot org. For sure. 792 00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:29,400 Speaker 1: There you go and be human? Huh if you uh? 793 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:31,760 Speaker 1: Oh wait, no, Chuck, we haven't gotten there yet. Since 794 00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:36,279 Speaker 1: I said be be human, it's time for listener mail. 795 00:46:39,560 --> 00:46:41,600 Speaker 1: You know what, let's skip listener mail this week, and 796 00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:45,480 Speaker 1: let's say use that extra ninety seconds to go to 797 00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:49,120 Speaker 1: your laptop and just do a little investigating on meals 798 00:46:49,120 --> 00:46:53,920 Speaker 1: on wheels. Okay, we'll wait, all right. If you want 799 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:56,360 Speaker 1: to get in touch with this, especially, let us know 800 00:46:56,440 --> 00:47:00,759 Speaker 1: about a cool, interesting or crazy meals on we experience. 801 00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:03,759 Speaker 1: We would love that. You can tweet to us at 802 00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:06,640 Speaker 1: josh um Clark or s Y s K podcast. You 803 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:09,160 Speaker 1: can join us on Facebook dot com, slash Charles W. 804 00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:12,080 Speaker 1: Chuck Bryant or slash stuff you should know. Oh yeah, 805 00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:14,560 Speaker 1: you can catch up with Chuck too on Twitter at 806 00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:17,480 Speaker 1: movie Crush. You can send us all an email to 807 00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:20,279 Speaker 1: Stuff podcast at how stuff Works dot com and has 808 00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:22,400 Speaker 1: always joined us at our home on the web, Stuff 809 00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:29,080 Speaker 1: you Should Know dot com. For more on this and 810 00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:31,719 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics, is it how stuff works dot 811 00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:42,400 Speaker 1: com