Food and friendship on the menu for outstanding Meals on Wheels award winners

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For more than 65 years, Meals on Wheels has played a crucial role in supporting the health and wellbeing of some of our most vulnerable older Australians through its network of 590 plus locations and 45,000 volunteers around the country.

For 30 of those years, Alison Meighan was one of the organisation's most passionate and hardworking volunteers, leaders and advocates.

Ms Meighan passed away in 2021 but her legacy is continuing on with Meals on Wheels Australia's first national awards program, named in her honour and launched in May with the support of Meals on Wheels sponsorship partner Glen 20.

Now the two inaugural winners of the Alison Meighan Awards - a regional service in Western Australia and a long-time volunteer from South Australia - have been acknowledged for their work in delivering the valuable services Ms Meighan was so dedicated to, and which became even more vital during COVID-19.

The Shire of Coolgardie's independently-run Meals on Wheels service operating in regional WA has been crowned the Service Excellence Award winner, while volunteer Colin Trenouth from South Australia's Edwardston branch received the Outstanding Contribution Award.

When COVID-19 hit and people were being advised to stay home, the Shire of Coolgardie stepped up to meet the urgent needs of some of the area's most vulnerable elderly residents, who were at risk of being isolated.

The Shire worked alongside Alison Meighan to establish a Meals on Wheels program to support their seniors by ensuring they received nourishing meals and valuable welfare checks during the crisis.

Today, the service delivers meals twice a week to 55 customers with the support of 15 paid staff and ten volunteers. Over the past two years it's delivered around 13,000 meals.

"During COVID-19 we identified the real need for our senior citizens to have access to healthy meals and we worked hard to get the program established, including the recovery period and beyond," said Malcom Cullen, President of the Shire of Coolgardie.

As part of the mission to also make sure their older residents remained connected with the wider community, the Shire further expanded the service. Under the new Seniors Staying Connected Program, Shire staff collect up to 20 seniors every fortnight for an outing to game days, lunch dates, lawn bowls and visits to museums.

Meals on Wheels Australia president Sharyn Broer said the development of the Shire of Coolgardie's Meals on Wheels program "epitomised the values and spirit" of the organisation.

"The community collaboration and can-do attitude required to establish and sustain this service that benefits older customers, staff and volunteers alike is extraordinary," she said.

A passionate advocate for Meals on Wheels, Colin Trenouth began driving and delivering meals at the Edwardstown branch eleven years ago. His kind and caring nature has made him a customer favourite.

Since 2012, Mr Trenouth has been found in the kitchen, sometimes six or seven days a week. He wears many hats, looking after everything from ordering frozen meals for customers to coordinating volunteers, to stepping in for media opportunities to help raise awareness about the service, or taking the minutes at the Edwardstown Branch Committee meetings.

But it's working with the service's customers that he feels most satisfaction. "I find the most rewarding part is interacting with the customers and understanding the importance of what we do," he said.

"This award represents to me that as a volunteer we are recognised and appreciated for the work we do."

Ms Broer praised the passionate volunteer's dedication.

"Colin's valuable contribution to his local community exemplifies the spirit of Alison Meighan and it's obvious that brightening that days of others makes him feel great too," she said.

As part of its valuable support, Glen 20 extended its sponsorship to also allow five shortlisted nominees for the awards to be recognised for their work.

They included volunteers Marika Pogany and Edwin Garth from COA Sydney, which provides kosher food services and social support to help Jewish seniors stay independent at home.

The COA Sydney organisation was also shortlisted, as well as the Mid-Richmond Neighbourhood Centre at Evans Head on the NSW north coast, and Warrumbungle Community Care in Coonabarabran in central NSW.

Sponsor Glen 20 was drawn to support Meals on Wheels because of their shared mission - caring for the community, said Pim Bolyn, Category Marketing Manager at Reckitt, the Disinfectant's parent company.

"With our shared purpose of being able to support healthier communities, Glen 20 is a proud partner of Meals on Wheels," he said.

"The opportunity to support the annual Alison Meighan Awards is a wonderful chance to recognise the incredible work of the many services and volunteers at Meals on Wheels who make a real impact in our community each day."

This is branded content for Glen 20.