There’s a grocery store less than a mile from Jane Hines’ little yellow house near the lake in Monticello, but she hasn’t been inside one in months.
Macular degeneration, a progressive eye condition causing blurry central vision, has made driving too dangerous for the 87-year-old, and the stairs outside her house mean she can’t leave on her own. Instead, her family helps by ordering groceries or bringing them to her.
She cooks a couple of times a week, usually easy meals like a hamburger in the air fryer or oatmeal. Other meals are simpler still — cereal, a protein bar or peanut butter on bread.
Cooking is hard when you can’t see in front of you, she said.
“I used to always make my own potato soup, but, well, if you want to peel away half a potato because you can’t see what you’re doing,” Hines paused and sighed. “So I just don’t do that anymore.”
In August, Hines’ 77-year-old sister worried she wasn’t eating properly, so she arranged for Hines to receive meals from Meadow Springs Senior Meals, a program owned and operated by women that delivers prepared food to older adults in rural northwest Indiana.
Before the deliveries began, Hines said she wasn’t getting the nutrients she needed.
“Of course, I wasn’t,” she said. “I’ve really had trouble cooking.”
Meadow Springs is an event center in Francesville, a small town 13 miles east of Rensselaer and 39 miles north of Lafayette. On Saturdays, it often hosts weddings, funerals and parties. On Sundays, its kitchen is used to prepare meals for older adults around the community.
The program is run by Katie Stowers, the daughter of the venue’s owner, Sandy.
It began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Sandy started bringing leftovers to Stowers’s grandfather. He lived alone and didn’t want to cook full meals for himself. When he did cook, he often had more food than he could finish.
While Meals on Wheels delivers to the area, Stowers said the meals are frozen and often require additional items that seniors would need to purchase themselves. For example, a hot dog might come without a bun, requiring a separate trip to the grocery store to buy eight buns for one hot dog.
Stowers said her mother saw an opportunity to help other older adults facing similar challenges. Sandy began preparing meals in the venue’s kitchen when it wasn’t being used for events so that seniors could choose and order for themselves rather than relying on leftover food brought from their family members.
For $42 a week, customers receive six prepared meals, a piece of fruit, a bag of vegetables and delivery to their homes. Each week, the program offers nine meal options to choose from.
In June, Stowers took over control of the program, which serves about 40 customers and delivers an average of 200 meals each week across Jasper, Pulaski, White and Carroll counties. Since its founding, it has served more than 250 seniors in the area, Stowers said.
Keeping the program operating has not always been easy, Stowers said. Meadow Springs has considered shutting it down twice because there weren’t enough people to sustain it. Both times, messages from seniors and their families convinced them to continue.
Some customers die, Stowers said, and the program sometimes receives thank-you letters from family members afterward.
“Every time we’ve talked about how maybe we should stop, there has always been something where it’s like, no, it’s definitely a need,” she said.
Stowers, who works as a preschool teacher during the week, now handles the program’s finances, grocery shopping, meal orders and other day-to-day operations.
“I will continue doing it for as long as I can,” Stowers said.
At noon on Sunday, four people worked around the venue’s kitchen. Metal spoons clanged against large pans as meals were prepared, portioned and packed for delivery. Stowers checked the bags before handing them off to three delivery drivers.
Craig Stevens loaded the bags into his 2000 GMC Silverado, which has no air conditioning, and settled in for the three-hour route.
Stevens has been delivering meals from Francesville to Monon and Monticello for about a year. His route covers more than 100 miles, while the program’s other two routes are about 50 miles each.
“There’s nothing on TV anymore worth a darn, so I might as well do something with my time,” he said.
He drives through the fields and windmills without a map. The 67-year-old has lived in the area his entire life and knows where his customers live.
In Monon, he makes four stops before heading to Monticello. At one house, a woman asks about his wife of 41 years. Stevens asks about her grandchildren.
While his conversations are brief, checking in has become part of his weekly routine.
“I find myself getting attached to the people, not like family, but like they’re my friends,” he said.
Stevens delivers to around 25 houses each week. Only one stop on his route is a couple. Many of the recipients are widows or widowers who live alone.
In Pulaski County, where the organization is based, nearly 27% of seniors live alone. In the other counties served, it’s similar with 27% in White County, nearly 32% in Jasper County and 28% in Carroll County.
Living alone does not necessarily mean someone is lonely. But Stevens said many of the seniors on his route like to talk to him while he is delivering food.
“They open up,” Stevens said. “They need that opportunity to talk to someone and to release that.”
A 2024 Central Indiana Senior Fund survey found that 41% of adults age 60 and older in central Indiana reported feeling lonely, up from 33% in 2017. The survey said the loss of a spouse, health problems that limit activities and distance from family and friends cause feelings of social isolation.
Hines’ husband died in 2011. For the past two years, her declining eyesight has made it difficult for her to leave the house, so she relies on her family to visit her.
To pass the time, Hines listens to audiobooks. She often talks to her Amazon Alexa because “she talks back.”
Stevens said Hines is always excited to chat when he stops by on Sundays.
Around 5:30 p.m., Stevens pulled into the driveway next to the boat ramp. The door to Hines’ house is open as he walks up the stairs.
“How are you, dear?” he asked Jane as she invited him in.
She updated him on her family as he handed her the Meadow Springs bag. Her daughter is in New Orleans, she told him, and her son is in Branson.
“I love the food in New Orleans,” Stevens said. “I’ve never been to Branson.”
They talked for a few minutes as Hines put away the food. She returned with an empty bag, her menu for next month and her check. She pointed out some details on the menu before she handed it to Stevens.
“You’re all set, hon,” Stevens said as he turned around. “I’ll get you all taken care of.”
As he left, Hines smiled and told him she’d see him in a week.
The visit lasted only a few minutes. It’s just one stop on Stevens’ weekly route. For Hines, it means she doesn’t have to move into an assisted living facility. Since she doesn’t have to prepare every meal for herself, she can continue living in the house she knows.
“I don’t have to worry about fixing it,” Hines said. “That means a lot.”
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FPI News reporter Elyse Perry covers issues relating to women and girls across the state. Reach her at 574-870-3950 or elyse.perry@fpinews.org.
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