Oregon Public Broadcasting

Meals On Wheels programs in many cities, including Yakima, provide food for homebound seniors and their pets.  But the Meals On Wheels locations in the Portland metro area have no plans to do the same.  Pete Springer reports.

The Meals On Wheels program in the Portland area is now feeding 5000 seniors a day -- double the meals it was providing a year ago. 

The program  provides meals to anyone over the age of 60.  Many of them are seniors who can’t leave the house.

Julie Piper is with Loaves and Fishes Centers, which administers the Meals on Wheels programs in Portland. 

She says they realize many seniors have pets, but they just don't have the resources to provide for both people and pets.

Julie Piper: “And if we had to warehouse cat and dog food as well as people food, we don’t really have the space for that, nor do we really have an administrative set-up to figure out who needs cat food and who needs dog food.  We’re actually primarily a volunteer run organization—we have a very small staff.”

Meals On Wheels purchases all the food it delivers.  Piper says the  big needs right now are for cash donations and volunteers.