January 2020 Current

Moving Forward – Edwards in driver’s seat at Meals on Wheels

By Craig Howard

Current Contributing Editor

Jeff Edwards grew familiar with the unique mission of Meals on Wheels as director of the Corbin Senior Activity Center.

Volunteer drivers stopped by the center in Spokane’s Emerson- Garfield neighborhood each weekday to pick up warm food and deliver it to residents. Corbin also featured a congregate meal site where lunch goers would gather for nourishment and conversation with friends.

“I saw it from afar and was always impressed with what Meals on Wheels did,” Edwards said. “When they say, ‘It’s more than a meal,’ it really is.”

Edwards took the helm at the center – consisting of around 1,000 members – in October 2016 at the age of 37 and worked there nearly three years.

“It opened my eyes to the needs of seniors,” he said.

The experience would serve Edwards well as he transitioned to his next career stop as executive director of Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels. He began on Sept. 9, 2019, leading an organization that provides over 20,000 meals a month through home delivery and meal sites known at “Silver Cafes” that now number a dozen throughout the county. The agency has its administrative home in Spokane Valley near Pines and Sprague.

Edwards took over an agency that found itself in the shadow of controversy over the past year. In February, the organization’s former bookkeeper Michelle Ferrell pled guilty to wire fraud and in September, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for embezzling close to $100,000 from Meals on Wheels.

“I had a lot of questions like the public did,” Edwards said. “I was aware of it but I also understood that they had a need and I felt I could contribute.”

As part of the decision, Ferrell was required to pay restitution of $99,871 and will be under three years of court supervision after incarceration.

Edwards said it was clear that “the mission went forward” despite the turbulence with a committed board, staff and volunteers leading the way.

“It’s been important to tackle those questions head on and restore that confidence,” he said. “Now, in terms of accounting practices, we’ve got everything you’d ever want in place.”

Board Member Alan Curryer, CEO of Rockwood Retirement Communities, said Edwards is the right leader at the right time.

“Jeff joins Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels at a time when the organization will need to step up to meet a growing need in the community driven by the baby boomers and the age wave,” Curryer said. “Jeff is an experienced nonprofit executive and has a track record of success in dealing with growth and organizational change. He brings energy to this work each and every day and has already implemented changes that are benefitting us and the seniors we serve.”

A native of Tennessee, Edwards grew up near Memphis and enlisted in the Marines at 17. After graduating from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee with a degree in political science, Edwards began working for Youth Villages, a nonprofit that helps at-risk adolescents and has branches in a dozen states.

In addition to his nonprofit and military experience, Edwards worked as an English instructor in China and found success as a freelance writer and blogger.

With a budget split almost evenly between public and private funds, Edwards understands the need to rally and sustain donor support. He is quick to point out the agency’s low overhead with 91 cents of every contributed dollar going directly to the mission.

“We want to make people aware of the need and the impact,” Edwards said.

Jeff and his wife Jennifer – a graduate of East Valley High School and Eastern Washington University – are proud parents of three kids – 10, 7 and 5.

Q: Some people might be reticent to take over an organization that has faced the challenges that Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels has gone through recently. Why didn’t this deter you?

A: When I interviewed for the position of executive director, I was aware of the challenges over the past two years in regards to the fraud that was perpetrated on the organization. However, what sold me on this organization was the fact that during that turbulent season, the mission never suffered. Seniors continued to receive their muchneeded nutrition and socialization as volunteers and staff never wavered in their commitment to ensure that everyone eats. It was also clear to me that the board of directors was aggressive in shoring up and implementing toptier accounting practices when the problem was discovered. As a result, I walked into the job on day one with every accounting practice a nonprofit organization would ever want already in place. Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels is a resilient organization and I was truly excited to steward this organization into the future.

Q: How did your leadership role at the Corbin Senior Center prepare you for this job?

A: My service at the Corbin Senior Center really introduced me to the needs of our senior community and just how many difficult decisions that our seniors have to make. Unfortunately, far too many wait until a moment of crisis to make those decisions. It also reinforced to me that the pursuit of joy is timeless. Regardless of age or circumstances, every senior deserves to know a little joy in each day and that joy can come in the form of a meal. Since we were children, we all get excited when lunch time arrives that doesn’t change for our seniors. It truly is our joy to serve them and for every senior that participates in our program, we thank them for letting us be a part of their story. It is true that our seniors will need help from time to time but we can’t forget that is only after a generation and a lifetime of them helping everyone else. They deserve the support and the joy that Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels can deliver.

Q: Meals on Wheels has such a recognizable brand but with this brand may come some unfair stigmas, including the quality of the food. What are some other stereotypes you’d like to dispel?

A: Most people do not realize that with Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels, our food is made fresh every morning in our local kitchen. We have a dedicated group of staff who begin in the early hours of the morning to ensure that whatever meal our seniors enjoy that day is fresh. I’d also like for seniors to know that our meal delivery is not income based. Regardless of income, if you find yourself a senior with limited mobility and you are struggling with any of your daily living activities such as meal preparation, we can be there for you. We do not have a waiting list here and if someone calls us on Monday, there is a good chance they can be receiving meals on Tuesday. For a senior to participate in our program does not mean that they are taking the food from someone else. Thanks to our public/private partnership with Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington (ALTCEW), we have the resources to support our seniors today. ALTCEW seeds our organization with a public dollar and then we reach out to raise exponential private dollars that allows us to serve seniors in every capacity. As a result, 91 cents of every donor dollar is able to go straight to the mission as opposed to overhead. It truly is an innovative approach of which Spokane should be proud.

Q: In what ways is Meals on Wheels more than just about dropping off food?

A: The social component is a huge piece of what we do. Whether that is encouraging seniors to dine at one of our 12 congregate locations or simply offering a warm smile and conversation when we deliver to a home, that human contact is priceless. For many of our seniors, not only will the meal we deliver be the only meal they eat that day but our volunteers are their only human faces they may see that day. With this in mind, we actually deliver dog and cat food one day a week to participants. To our seniors who are isolated, their pets are their family and we have found that our seniors will sacrifice their own nutrition to feed their pets. So, we deliver pet food to ensure the whole “family” is taken care of. Perhaps most importantly, our home delivery service serves as a daily check-in to a vulnerable population. We knock on the door everyday and if no one answers, we call the client as well as their emergency contact. This daily check-in serves as a safety net for the seniors and offers reassurance to the children of our clients as they know someone is looking out for mom and dad.

Q: You have an amazing collection of volunteers that keeps your operation running on all cylinders. What makes this group so special?

A: I have been in the nonprofit management world for about 20 years now and I am absolutely blown away by the commitment and resiliency of our volunteers. We have people who have been delivering meals to seniors for decades and they show up every week eager to serve again. The entire Meals on Wheels model simply doesn’t work without volunteers and they are an essential piece to the program. On the average, it takes about one hour once a week to deliver meals, but it is the backbone of what we do. I cannot say enough about our volunteers and I don’t think I have seen anything quite like it in all my years of nonprofit management experience.

Q: As a native of the South, what are some of the major differences between the Inland Northwest and where you grew up?

A: Well, there is certainly a little more snow than I’m used to in Memphis. That’s taken some getting used to, but the summers here are worth it. The lack of humidity makes summer enjoyable and the Inland Northwest boasts just about every outdoor adventure you could ever want. I’d also have to brag on Spokane’s public park system. If you have not lived in another city, you may not truly appreciate what a gem the public park system is here in our region. I have to settle for a few less options of my favorite fried southern foods or a good glass of sweet ice tea, but I think the tradeoff is worth it and I’ll perhaps be healthier as a result! As for the local nonprofit community, I’ll also say that Spokane is a very generous community. I’ve been impressed by how willing the community is to support local causes and nonprofits like Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels thrives as a result.

Q: No one likes to see people go hungry or be lonely. How can people help support the mission of Meals on Wheels?

A: I’d simply ask everyone to be a part of this movement where you are at. If that means you have the time and resources to volunteer, we certainly have a continued need for volunteer drivers. I mentioned the public/private partnership earlier and if you find yourself in a position to donate financial resources, we pledge to steward those resources well. We do indeed have some public support but we need the private support to ensure no senior goes hungry. There are often two ways to look at charitable giving and that is through “need” or “social impact.” The truth of the matter is that every nonprofit has need, but we are about making a measurable social impact on our community. We want our donors and volunteers to sleep at night knowing they have made a genuine and measurable impact on senior hunger and isolation. Finally, we encourage everyone to simply spread the word about what we do. We serve over 1,000 meals each day but you could not convince me that this is the sum of the need in all of Spokane County. At our organization, we serve the city of Spokane, Spokane Valley, Mead, Deer Park, Liberty Lake, Airway Heights, Cheney and beyond. Help us find those seniors that need us and help us be a part of their story.

Q: Finally, how would you rate the barbecue in your adopted community? Anything approach the options that can be found in Memphis?

A: I do love my barbeque and, as much as I love Spokane, we could use a few more options in this part of the country. In Memphis, you could find a good mom and pop barbecue shop on nearly every corner and the best food was always off the beaten path as opposed to the more famous tourist destinations. Not to plug any particular vendor, but as for this Memphis native’s taste, the men at Nordic Smoke BBQ have taken the crown so far here in Spokane. They graciously served several of our veterans’ events when I was at the Corbin Senior Center and I’ve not found anything to compare to them just yet here in Spokane. If any local vendors would like to feed me some barbecue and prove otherwise, I’ve never been one to turn down a meal!

Jeff Edwards took over as executive director of Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels in September. The native of Tennessee previously worked as the director of the Corbin Senior Activity Center in north Spokane.

Photo by Craig Howard