NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Hundreds of FeedMore WNY volunteers are busy delivering thousands of meals to people five days a week.
Those meal deliveries double as check-ins with many of our community's most vulnerable neighbors.
A FeedMore WNY volunteer's knock at the door is a lifesaver for Gary Miller and his daughter, Laura.
"He loves so much food, and I didn't want him learning to become dependent on canned goods and Beefaroni, and that kind of thing, mac and cheese, so I knew that it was really important for him to have a nice, balanced meal every day, and he does, and it's amazing," Teplitsky said.
Added Miller: "I only have to wash the fork."
Teplitsky also spends time taking care of family in Syracuse, so the meal deliveries really help.
"Even when everything was good in my life, I don't have a long drive to get here, but just coming every day is a challenge, so I know that he's taken care of every day, every day, and he's super happy about it," Teplitsky said.
During our visit with Miller, we found out he loves meatballs, hates spinach, and loves trains.
"My dad was, worked on a railroad. So, he took me to all the train shows and all of that, and I continued right on," Miller said.
The deliveries, and check-ins with volunteers, also mean family members don't have to miss work as much.
"It can be one less thing on their to-do list. While as much as they love being able to care-give, you can't always be in two places at once," said Catherine Shick, FeedMore WNY's public relations manager. "Those well-being checks that our volunteers offer, they're able to come in and make sure that our recipients are safe and sound. They're able to share that friendly greeting."
"I feel like when they come in, there's a lot of good things they can talk about, and mostly the Bills, mostly the Sabres. I think it's really good and it makes him smile which is, makes me happy," Teplitsky said.