WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - The Wichita Meals on Wheels is experiencing extreme volunteer shortages forcing Senior Services of Wichita staff members to make deliveries.

Senior Services of Wichita representatives say that Meals on Wheels is understaffed, functioning with only eight employees, most of which are part-time. The program delivers more than 750 meals every day and when volunteers aren't available to deliver the food, Senior Services staff members have to.

“When staff members have to take routes the program can fall behind on assessing current and new clients,” says Laurel Alkire, Executive Director. “Delivery routes can take 90 minutes to 2 hours. Staff members often return to the office around 2:00 p.m. giving them very little time to do home visit assessments. We are considering placing a temporary hold on adding new clients until we can catch up. Right now delivering up to 850 meals may be unrealistic given limited manpower from both staff and volunteers.”

If you would like to volunteer you can apply on their website here.