Angels on Wheels

Four days a week, Mary Bay Kang of Hacienda Heights picks up her daughter Bebe Louie in Monterey Park at 2 a.m. The two carpool to an industrial-sized kitchen in Los Angeles, where mother and daughter work side by side to chop, sort and prepare food for housebound senior citizens.

St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels, one of many programs nationwide delivering hot meals to the elderly, has been part of the family for three generations.

It all started 20 years ago, when Kang’s mother, Blanche Loui, then 70, went to the program’s headquarters west of downtown L.A. for a meal--and ended up volunteering. Today, Blanche still does light duties for Meals on Wheels, such as helping to assemble holiday packages.

As the program strives to meet the ever-growing demand, a drive for new volunteers was launched Wednesday, sponsored by Reynolds Wrap, which donated a new van to the St. Vincent’s program.

St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels began in 1977 as a tiny operation out of a church basement, serving 33 meals a day. Today, the operation has its own building and delivers more than 2,000 meals a day all over Central Los Angeles.

Despite its size, the program still accommodates senior citizens’ special medical or religious dietary restrictions and food preferences.

Founder and Executive Director Sister Alice Marie Quinn calls volunteers like Kang and her family “angels.”

Quinn’s office, filled with dozens of tiny angel and cherub figurines and prints, echoes her appreciation for the 200-plus volunteers and staff members that keep the organization running.

Kang remembers the early days, working alongside her mother with a small kitchen crew that had to do everything from scratch. They would make hamburger patties, debone chickens and carve turkeys at a frenzied pace that had her collapsing into bed as soon as she came home.

“And I used to get burns from the old stoves we used,” Kang said, pointing to her arms. She shot Louie a look that only a mother can. “You guys today, you have it easy.”

Louie smiled with a gleam of protest in her hazel eyes. The two sat in a side room of the St. Vincent’s kitchen, bantering during a break. Kang adjusted her apron, color-coordinated with her hot pink hair bow holding up a tidy bun.

The bond with her mother keeps her coming to St. Vincent’s, the daughter said. “Besides, my mom likes it because she gets a chance to boss me around.” The mother said she volunteers even when she is tired because of Sister Quinn’s inspiring presence.

She recalled the day the dishwasher broke and the program didn’t have the money to repair it.

“Sister was so blue that day. She asked me to go to Ralphs and pick up some groceries. I got all these game pieces there and when we opened them, Sister had won $5,000,” Kang said. “I’m not really religious, but I do think somebody was looking out for us.”

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Sherman Oaks resident Sherry Tunnell, a St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels volunteer driver, said the meal deliveries provide more than just food for seniors.

“For a lot of them, it is the only contact with people they have. There have been seniors who had become ill or had fallen, and no one knew about it until the Meals on Wheels volunteers showed up to make a delivery,” she said. “Also, it’s just important to have the human contact, too. We get to know the people on the route and talk to them.”

Kang often carves fancy designs from fruits and vegetables to garnish the meals of her favorite clients.

A fourth generation of Kang’s family--her 16-year-old granddaughter, who is Louie’s niece--started volunteering in the kitchen.

“But then she got a boyfriend, and now she hasn’t got time anymore,” Kang said with a knowing smile.

“She’ll realize what her priorities are and come back,” Louie added.