'Desperation': Food bank CEO says some Meals on Wheels recipients haven't eaten 'in weeks'
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Veronica Dover, CEO of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels in Los Angeles, on MS NOW on November 27, 2025 (Image: Screengrab via YouTube / MS NOW)
For thousands of homebound seniors in the Los Angeles area unable to cook for themselves, Thanksgiving dinner will be delivered by St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. And for many of those people, this will be the first meal they've had in days — or even weeks.
That's according to St. Vincent Meals on Wheels CEO Veronica Dover, who told MS NOW on Thursday that she's seen more need from the people her organization serves in recent months than ever before. Dover told MS NOW reporter Jillian Frankel that while she expected demand would be higher on Thanksgiving Day, she wasn't expecting to see so much "desperation" from Meals on Wheels recipients.
"Some of these folks that arebeing referred to us haven'teaten in days, some of them inweeks. And so it's really sadto see the state ofmalnourishment that is reallycoming," she said. "So they're very, verydesperate when they come to usand we're doing everything wepossibly can to take on as manyof these people as, as wepossibly can."
St. Vincent Meals on Wheels volunteers were seen during the segment preparing more than 2,000 meals to be delivered across Los Angeles County. The organization will be delivering an estimated 300pounds of roasted turkey, 200pounds of freshly mashedpotatoes and 100 gallons ofgravy, along with various side dishes. Dover reminded MS NOW viewers that while lines at food banks have been particularly long this year given the sluggish economy and rising prices, the people who rely on Meals on Wheels aren't even physically able to stand in those lines.
"Most of the people thatwe serve are homebound. They'reunable to get out and shop andcook for themselves. And wherebefore they might have had fooddropped off by people, that'snot happening as often," she said. "We'regetting referrals through the Department of Mental Health,through social services andother places of people whomaybe get a bag of food droppedoff every other week and theopposite week they weren'teating before they came to us.And so it's really sadsituation, the desperation thatwe're seeing."
Frankel reported that St. Vincent Meals on Wheels workers were "stretchingtheir resources here as far aspossible," in order to provide a homemade Thanksgiving meal to needy homebound Angelenos, many of whom are seniors.
"Today's mealsincluded turkey, stuffing,mashed potatoes and all of thefixings. Everything that thesefolks need to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal right fromhome this year," Frankel said.
Click here to visit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels' website, and watch the segment below.