Jack Elder loads insulated carriers into the small trailer he pulls with his bicycle to deliver lunches for Meals on Wheels.
Photo: Helen L. Montoya, San Antonio Express-News / ©SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Every Monday morning, Esther Carranza waits patiently in her East Side home, listening for the voice of a friend bearing lunch and a kind word.
Shortly before noon, Jack Elder arrives by bike at her house, which is near Poe Middle School where he once taught math. From a trailer hitched to his bike he removes an insulated bag containing a diabetic meal of Salisbury steak, with low-sodium gravy, mashed potatoes, seasoned spinach, a dinner roll, a fresh pear and a container of 1-percent milk. He carries the meal to the porch, where Carranza, who has an eye condition and can only see shadows, awaits.
“Good to see you,” he says. “You doing OK?”
“Not so good,” she says, edging her walker to a sidewalk ramp. “My knees, it's the cartilage; I've been putting on ointments.”
Elder takes her lunch to the kitchen, passing a wall of sepia-toned photos of soldiers bearing decades-old smiles.
Elder is one of 3,000 Meals on Wheels volunteers who deliver meals across the city to those in need. The meals program, sponsored by Christian Senior Services, delivered 890,000 meals last year to homebound seniors.
Unlike his counterparts, Elder doesn't use a car or truck to make his deliveries. Instead, he rides a 14-gear, hybrid bicycle, pulling a plywood trailer painted with his statement about what he's doing to help the environment: “1 - car” it reads, a nod to one less car on the road.
Elder, 69, says helping out in the neighborhood where he used to work is a great fit.
“It's a good feeling,” he says. “I get to contribute a little bit now that I'm retired.”
Biking has been his lifestyle since 1976. Later it became a necessity when his Volkswagen van was in the repair shop for a year.
“It just seemed like a natural extension to keep on riding,” Elder says.
He's logged many miles on his bikes over the years, cycling to and from St. Gerard High School and along Commerce Street to Our Lady of the Lake University where he studied for his teaching certificate.
“Given the world we live in, it's just an elegant way to get around,” he says. “When I see people riding a bike, it's totally a good day.”
His delivery day starts at 10:30 a.m. when he locks his bike to a rail outside of the Highland Terrace United Methodist Church off Steves Avenue and picks up the prepared lunches packed in insulated bags. After loading his trailer, he delivers the meals to seven seniors living in surrounding neighborhoods.
Volunteers like Elder not only deliver meals, they also build relationships, says Christian Senior Services spokesman Jerry Arellano.
“It really helps, from a social interaction standpoint, combat loneliness among these seniors, so they don't feel depressed or as isolated,” Arellano says. “It's a very rewarding experience with tangible results.”
The meals program Elder delivers for is called Corredor de Esperanze. It is supported by five United Methodist churches in the New Braunfels Avenue area. Arellano says the Southeast and East Sides where a lot of seniors live is underserved, and could use more volunteers to deliver meals between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each week day.
After making several stops near the church, Elder heads North on Gevers Street, and crosses under Interstate 10 to Carranza's shaded street. A dog jumps and barks behind metal gates as he takes meals to two of her neighbors. Carranza waits and listens for his knock on the door.
For information on volunteering with Meals on Wheels call 210-735-5115 or go to Christianseniorservices.org to fill out an online application.
vtdavis@express-news.net
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