Rising gas prices affect Meals on Wheels volunteers

As gas prices continue to rise, volunteers with Meals on Wheels are feeling the pain at the pump.

Approximately 1,000 meals are delivered every day in Pinellas County. Coordinators said the higher gas prices rise, the harder it is to find delivery volunteers.

Patsy Ware spends several days a week on the road, volunteering with the organization. She said she definitely feels the impact.

"You have to plan how much it's going to cost," she said. "And how much you can spend doing the volunteer work."

Fortunately Ware can still afford to volunteer, but she has had to cut back.

"I used to do a lot of extra if I could, and they asked me to do extra," she said. "I can't really do that now. It's not that I don't want to."

Coordinator Sandra Narron said the soaring prices are forcing some volunteers to give it up altogether.

"Gas price right now is the biggest problem," said Narron. "We have some that would be doing two or three routes a week that just can't do that anymore. They've had to stop and cut back to one or two routes a week. They're on fixed income, many of them, and they can't keep continuing to do this for us."

Meals on Wheels is always looking for volunteers. To volunteer, call Neighborly Care Network at 727-573-9444.