Tampa Bay Times19%
‘They’re like family to me’: How a meal delivery program is helping Pinellas seniors 57%
By Pedro Malkomes0%
7/13/2026, 8:46:12 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 26 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Anecdotal, and Overconfidence Bias, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 29.2% saturation with 343 hits. Analysis detected 2,352 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,173 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 54.5% and a BS Rank of 57% (6,924 of 15,976 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 56.70% of the article peer group.
Almost every day around 10 a.m., Melvin Swartout sits on a brown recliner inside his cozy Largo apartment, a navy blue cane leaning on the chair.
His gaze often lingers a few feet across the room toward a framed photo of himself with his late wife.
The home is quiet.Then comes the knock.
Soon after, the aroma of hot food as the door creaks open — a smiling delivery driver on the other side.
The conversations that follow aren’t long, but they’re enough to brighten Swartout’s day.
“They’re like family to me,” the 96-year-old Marine Corps veteran said of the drivers he’s come to know.
For thousands of seniors across Pinellas County, Neighborly Care Network’s Meals on Wheels program is a lifeline.
Delivery drivers check in with seniors daily while dropping off food to ensure they’re healthy and keep them socially active.
Primarily funded by the Older Americans Act, Neighborly offers seniors 60 and older hot and frozen meal deliveries, Monday through Friday, for free or at a low cost, depending on eligibility.
The program has been active for 60 years and is part of the larger Meals on Wheels America organization, which assists Neighborly with funding and resources.
“All of our programs and services are geared toward helping older adults live with dignity at home for as long as possible,” said Anita Cihlar, Neighborly’s licensed dietitian and nutrition director.
For seniors without nearby family or caretakers to lean on, the program can play a big role in maintaining lifestyles as they age.
As of 2023, about 28% of older adults outside assisted-living facilities live alone, according to Merck Manuals, a medical database.
Many of those adults report feeling lonely, and those with health problems can have new or worsening symptoms go unnoticed.
Older adults also struggle with undernutrition.
But there are ways to help.
In a clinical trial conducted by Brown University with 14 Meals on Wheels programs nationwide, researchers are finding that seniors using meal delivery services have improved socialization, nutrition and overall well-being.
Clearwater and Jacksonville are among the 14 programs participating.
The trial, which partnered with Neighborly, tested the difference between having meals delivered in person five days a week and having two weeks’ worth of meals delivered occasionally through mail services like UPS or FedEx.
Loneliness can be as detrimental to health as other chronic conditions, Cihlar said.
Even brief interactions can make a difference.
Since many Florida residents are originally from other states, it creates a unique problem of isolation and loneliness, said Jeff Johnson, state director of AARP Florida.
The loss of familiar connections, like friends or a spouse, greatly impacts mental and physical health — leading to issues like high blood pressure, risk of stroke and reduced mmunity to infections.
“We are wired to be social creatures,” Johnson said.
“When you’re on your own, you’re much more vulnerable than when you’re with a group.”
A 2017 study published in the Journal of Aging Health cited higher Medicare costs for seniors who experienced less social interaction.
Researchers linked health and retirement data to Medicare claims to determine that seniors who spend more time alone are likely to spend more on healthcare, especially inpatient and nursing-home care, and are at a greater risk of death.
“Hopefully, being in this program, their days are a little bit brighter, and they have someone to look forward to speaking to and something to look forward to each day,” Cihlar said.
Dietitians from Neighborly approve all of the delivered meals.
The program offers new dishes every day of the week, ranging from chicken Parmesan to Salisbury steak.
Swartout said the meals taste good and are helping him lose weight.
Neighborly’s drivers, which include paid and volunteer workers, know how to identify health issues and are trained to act in an emergency, from calling 911 to relaying information to family members, Cihlar said.
Drivers look for signs like a well-dressed client suddenly appearing disheveled.
In the corner of Swartout’s study, atop a black filing cabinet, he keeps a collection of handwritten notes from drivers.
“Mel, you are fearfully and wonderfully made,” reads one.
“God made you special,” reads another.
In return for the notes, Swartout sometimes bakes them pies, banana bread or pumpkin bread.
“They say they enjoy it.
I hope they do.
I mean, an apple pie is an apple pie,” he said.
Swartout’s family lives scattered across multiple states, and it’s not often they get an opportunity to visit.
His relationship with them, he said, isn’t that close.
Swartout said families who visit each other for a meal every week should cherish what they have.
“These people come every day, only for a couple of minutes; three or four, five minutes; but it’s still every day,” Swartout said.
He paused for a moment and took a breath.
“That’s a big deal to people like me.”
Swartout has invited drivers and their families over for a meal or Bible study.
He has no shortage of stories to tell from his time as a business owner, scuba diver and volunteer in the Christian jail ministry.
Before Meals on Wheels, Swartout said he would always cook too much food and end up with leftovers, but the service has helped him manage his portions.
“I think it’s a tremendous program; it really is,” Swartout said.
Jeffrey Rogers decided to work with older adults after seeing seniors be scammed as a police officer.
“It’s tough for seniors when, especially as they get older, they see their friends passing away or having to move to go live with family,” he said.
“They get lonely, and their social circle kind of falls apart.”
Motivated to help, Rogers, 51, now works as a delivery driver for Neighborly.
The biggest reward on the job isn’t his salary — it’s seeing the smile when a client opens the door.
“It gives them a sense of security, a sense of belonging, a sense of friendship that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” he said.
Since he’s on the same route every day, Rogers builds relationships with clients over time and feels genuinely invested in their lives.
Sometimes, he said, all they want is for someone to listen to them for a few minutes.
“I often hear that me calling them, or stopping by, is the best thing that has happened to them all week,” Rogers said.
In some cases, the best thing he can do for seniors is keep their family in the loop.
Rogers said there have been moments when clients open up to him about their loneliness or depression.
So he calls the families to provide them with resources.
“I’m honored to be able to do it,” he said.
“I don’t take that lightly.”
Most people behind the program, like Rogers, understand the importance of having someone there for you as you age, and they hope someday people will do the same for them.
“We owe that to them to allow them to age gracefully,” Cihlar said.
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