Blog

October 10 is National Depression Screening Day. At Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels, we’re looking for the signs of depression in our clients every day. The PHQ 9 Patient Health Questionnaire is used in medical offices and other facilities across the country to identify signs of depression. YMOW uses that same questionnaire as part of our ...

September is Food Safety Education Month – a good time to review the simple but important steps we can take to prevent foodborne illness, also known as food poisoning. Each year, 1 in 6 Americans gets sick from eating contaminated food. Many of those who become ill are older adults, who are at a greater ...

September is National Preparedness Month. Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels is doing its part to be sure our homebound neighbors have access to nutritious food, no matter what Old Man Winter and Mother Nature might have in store. Along with regular meals, YMOW client care associates and volunteers deliver shelf-stable food to clients at least twice ...

Extra batteries are just one way honored volunteer serves more than a meal She’s been called Ash, Ashercat and Ashleigh O. But it wasn’t until she became a YMOW volunteer that Ashleigh Oliveira started answering to the nickname “My Little Chocolate Chip.” “I have no idea where that came from,” Ashleigh said, but each Wednesday ...

Edgar is a Meals on Wheels recipient. He’s also an author, a musician and a dad. Thanks to Meals on Wheels, one thing he isn’t is a burden to his busy children. At 51, he’s among the youngest of YMOW’s 200-plus clients. And as the father of a 27-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son, Edgar ...

Gary Gross has big plans for his recent retirement. Along with remodeling his house, traveling to Europe and spending time with his wife and two teen-aged children, the 62-year-old is enjoying his time spent delivering meals for Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels. “I always planned this as part of my retirement,” said Gary, who joins client ...

As part of our celebration of National Volunteer Month, YMOW is excited to announce the launch of a new volunteer recognition program. Each quarter, YMOW staff will choose a valuable volunteer to honor as our Volunteer of the Quarter. Our first honorees are Mike and Gerri Quashnie of Ypsilanti Township. Although they began delivering meals ...

For many Michiganders, Seasonal Affective Disorder is Nothing to Laugh About Aptly nicknamed SAD, seasonal affective disorder is more than a case of the winter blues. It is an actual form of depression caused by a lack of sunlight. That lack of sunlight affects the body’s ability to produce the brain chemicals needed to feel ...

A lot has changed since Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels made its first delivery. But one constant throughout the organization’s 45-year history is Virginia – a dedicated volunteer who has spent a lifetime seeing that other people have the food they need. From her own children to hungry strangers, feeding people has always been important to ...