Earnestine Hayes was a young bride in 1943 when she moved north from Louisiana, searching for job opportunities and a better life.
She and her husband, Morris, found that in West Oakland, where they worked factory and domestic jobs during World War II and afterward. They briefly moved to Berkeley before putting down permanent roots in East Oakland in 1966.
And though her home is still as immaculate as it was in the 1960s — you would be hard-pressed to find even a speck of dust under the furniture enshrined in plastic — Hayes still needs a little help.
Morris died in 1994, and the couple never had children. Though Hayes is still happily independent, she has trouble getting to the grocery store and preparing meals.
The 92-year-old has relied on Service Opportunities for Seniors/Meals on Wheels food delivery for more than three years to ensure she’s getting proper nutrition.
“I’m just sincerely thankful and grateful,” Hayes said. “There are elders out there who can’t get out, and they depend on this.”
Earnestine Hayes was a young bride in 1943 when she moved north from Louisiana, searching for job opportunities and a better life.
She and her husband, Morris, found that in West Oakland, where they worked factory and domestic jobs during World War II and afterward. They briefly moved to Berkeley before putting down permanent roots in East Oakland in 1966.
And though her home is still as immaculate as it was in the 1960s — you would be hard-pressed to find even a speck of dust under the furniture enshrined in plastic — Hayes still needs a little help.
Morris died in 1994, and the couple never had children. Though Hayes is still happily independent, she has trouble getting to the grocery store and preparing meals.
The 92-year-old has relied on Service Opportunities for Seniors/Meals on Wheels food delivery for more than three years to ensure she’s getting proper nutrition.
“I’m just sincerely thankful and grateful,” Hayes said. “There are elders out there who can’t get out, and they depend on this.”
“It’s kind of a family passion,” McCabe said. “You get so much back from helping people.”
Meals on Wheels received funding for its holiday program this year from Share the Spirit, an annual campaign to enhance the holiday season for residents in need in the East Bay. The grant is administered by The Volunteer Center of the East Bay, and donations support more than 30 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
McCabe said the Share the Spirit money will go toward “special” holiday meals for seniors, including pumpkin and apple pies, as well as Christmas gifts. Last year the seniors, many struggling to track their days, received calendars.
The average age of clients served by the agency is 79, with many living below the federal poverty level and at a high risk of malnutrition.
“A lot of times the drivers are the only ones the seniors will see throughout the day,” she said.
Hayes’ driver, Banks Iles Jr., 57, enjoys joking and chatting with his customers. He delivers 30 meals in the morning and about 30 more in the afternoon, he said, and won’t leave until he gets a smile. He can relate to their plight — he himself needs dialysis to treat a failing kidney.
But that doesn’t damper his mood. After handing Hayes one box of food, he pointed to the second box and laughed, “You gonna give me a fork for this one?”
Hayes just shook her head, smiling.
“He’s nice, and I don’t mind it,” she said.
Neither does Milton Williams, 94, who said he welcomes the daily visits. Although he has three grown children and about 10 grandchildren and great-grandchildren in California, they don’t see him every day.
Williams said he’s used the program for about a decade. The program became necessary after his and his wife’s health started to fail. She died five years ago, he said.
“The food has gotten decidedly better over the years,” he said, laughing. “And what can you say when you get it free?”
Williams was born in Oakland in 1921 and has plenty of stories about the city. He served first in the Civilian Conservation Corps, part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, before later joining the Navy and fighting in World War II. He later worked for the Oakland Fire Department when it was still segregated, he said, with black firemen confined to one station house. The firefighters fought for integration with the NAACP, he said, winning it in 1955, but he didn’t stay for long after that.
He’s thankful for his good life, he said, and that includes the Meals on Wheels service.
“I can’t complain because I was lucky enough to have good jobs all my life. I was a normal working man who lived in my own house, didn’t have to rent,” he said.
“That’s a lot better than some people have.”
