Meals on Wheels

Airman 1st Class Jack Ensminger, left, and Senior Airman Jonathan Greene, both 341st Force Support Squadron personnelists, and other volunteers prepare pumpkin pies at the Great Falls Community Food Bank before packaging them for delivery on Nov. 22. Members of Team Malmstrom volunteered their time on Nov. 21 and 22 to make and deliver 420 Thanksgiving meals for elderly members of the Great Falls community through the Meals on Wheels program. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen)

Meals on Wheels

Greene, left, and Ensminger reheat turkey before packing it for delivery. Ensminger was the alternate point of contact for Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels at the Great Falls Community Food Bank and was crucial to making the volunteer project a success. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen)

Meals on Wheels

Left to right, Staff Sgt. Greggory Fairhurst, 341st Munitions Squadron maintenance team member, Senior Airman Anel Mehmedovic, 341st Force Support Squadron adverse actions technician, and Capt. Nick Saccone, 819th RED HORSE Squadron project manager, prepare and package biscuits on Nov. 22 for Thanksgiving meals to be delivered. More than 65 Team Malmstrom members volunteered to make, package and deliver Thanksgiving meals for the Meals on Wheels program. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen)

Team Malmstrom serves community Thanksgiving meals

Published Nov. 30, 2012
By Airman 1st Class Katrina Heikkinen
341st Missile Wing Public Affairs

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- It's 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. Most members of Team Malmstrom are asleep, spending time with their family and enjoying the holiday.

But 65 members of Team Malmstrom volunteered their holiday to help make and deliver more than 400 meals to elderly members of the Great Falls community through the Meals on Wheels program at the Great Falls Food Bank on Nov. 21 and 22.

A traditional turkey dinner was on the menu for the recipients of the meal. Complete with turkey, mash potatoes, ham, gravy, cranberry sauce, pie and fruit were donated by Great Falls community members.

"Every year we place an ad in the Great Falls Tribune saying that we can provide a meal to any senior today [on Thanksgiving]," said Nancy Wilson, Great Falls Meals on Wheels program manager. "It's our gift to seniors who are over the age of 60, and due to health problems or limited mobility, we step in and bring a hot meal. We're making and delivering more than we've ever done before. We wouldn't be able to do this without the help of Airmen from Malmstrom Air Force Base. I can't thank the Air Force enough."

Without the planning of Airmen 1st Class Franziska Feijoo, and Jack Ensminger, 341st Force Support Squadron personnelists, and Wilson, the need-based program wouldn't be able to support more than 400 recipients.

"This is my first time volunteering here, as I've only been stationed at Malmstrom since March," Feijoo said. "I love giving back to the community and I figured this was a great chance to step up, help out and show leadership. It was a lot of work but the success of it paid off."

For returning Meals on Wheels volunteers, Master Sgt. Kirk McManious, 341st FSS first sergeant, and Senior Airman Jane Maniago, 341st FSS personnelist, taking time out of their holiday every year is well worth the reward.

"This is my second year volunteering at Meals on Wheels," Maniago said. "It feels good to help out with the community and be a part of something bigger than myself. It feels really good to know that they [recipients] appreciate what we do for them."

For Master Sgt. Kirk McManious, this was his eighth time volunteering at the food bank.

"I've done this seven times with my children," McManious said. "They've grown up in the military so they've been fortunate and this is a good way to teach them to give back to the community."