Maureen Anastasi

Maureen Anastasi had four young children when she first heard about Caring for Friends through the St. Andrew’s Church bulletin. “So, I just thought this idea that this woman named Rita, who founded the organization, had — it just really resonated with me because I loved the way that she coupled meals with the importance and ability to build some camaraderie with these clients in their own homes.”

Maureen thought she could help on the sidelines packaging her family’s leftovers and dropping those meals off at the church. Later, when her three children grew, she started to deliver meals to clients’ homes with her youngest.

“I had probably two or three different clients, and I really enjoyed it. It gave me an opportunity to get to know some of these people and understand what their situations were, and more than anything, it gave me an appreciation for how very important this work is. Because they were shut-ins without these meals being delivered, [they] would have had no way in which to get food.”

Maureen loves that it’s as simple as making one meal. “For somebody that’s new to the organization, if they can get a hold of those [meal] tins, it could be as simple as making a meal here and there as time allows.”

After two or three years of cooking and delivering, she took a break and just recently returned to delivering and cooking meals. “I was always aware of [Caring for Friends], and I always knew I’d get back to it. I will continue to do the work because the mission resonates with me.”