GNY EP.190 | Jennifer Covert from Meals on Wheels of Eastern Onondaga County
What if the person delivering your food today was also the one who saved your life? In this episode of Good News York, host Noah Chrysler sits down with Jennifer Covert, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Eastern Onondaga County and Vice President of the Meals on Wheels of New York State Association, for a heartfelt and eye-opening conversation about one of Central New York’s most important — and often invisible — nonprofit organizations.
Jennifer pulls back the curtain on what Meals on Wheels actually does: delivering hot, home-cooked meals to homebound seniors who can’t leave the house, many of whom live completely alone. But as Jennifer makes clear, it’s never just a meal. Every delivery is also a wellness check, a friendly face, and sometimes the difference between life and death. She shares true stories from the field — including a client who put a Meals on Wheels driver in his will to inherit his beloved dog Jack, and a woman named Mrs. Smith who fell down the stairs and would have bled to death had her driver not noticed something was off and called for help.
Jennifer also opens up about being one of only 16 people selected nationwide — out of 5,000 Meals on Wheels agencies — to travel to Washington, D.C. and advocate on Capitol Hill for $2.285 billion in federal funding. She walked the underground tunnels of Congress, led a meeting with Senator Chuck Schumer’s office, and made staffers emotional with real stories from the field.
The conversation covers the surprising accessibility of Meals on Wheels (you can sign up for as little as $10/day — no age requirement!), the organization’s dream of expanding into a larger facility to serve more of Eastern Onondaga County, the incredible community of volunteers who cook and deliver the meals each day, and Jennifer’s deeply personal reason for dedicating her career to this work. Plus, Noah shares a hilarious story about an elderly woman at bingo who fakes senility just to mess with someone she doesn’t like — and Jennifer is obsessed.
If you’ve ever wondered how you can help seniors in your community, this episode will show you exactly how.
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Chapters:
0:00 – Cold open: The 96-year-old volunteer driver
0:17 – Welcome & guest introduction
0:48 – What is Meals on Wheels?
2:10 – How to get involved: volunteers, donations & clients
4:30 – Trip to Washington, D.C. & Capitol Hill advocacy
7:54 – Stories that made Congress cry
9:52 – Why Meals on Wheels matters more than ever (post-COVID & senior isolation)
12:39 – How the meals are made
14:10 – How to sign up for Meals on Wheels ($10/day)
16:55 – The dream: a bigger building & expanding the mission
17:03 – Jennifer’s personal connection to senior care
19:08 – Noah’s bingo hall story (you won’t see this coming)
22:03 – Final thoughts & how to get involved
This episode is sponsored by Ads on the Go — helping businesses of all sizes get noticed with simple, effective advertising solutions. Check them out at www.getadsonthego.com
Good News York is produced by Click Stream Studios, located in the heart of Syracuse, NY. If you’re a business owner, nonprofit, or community leader in Central New York and want to share your story, we’d love to help you create your own show. Book a free 30-minute strategy call at www.ClickStreamStudios.com.
