United Way provides grocery shoppers for elderly, homebound during pandemic

After hearing about United Way through Charter Oak Church in Unity, Becky Bortz, 62, felt called to help pick up groceries for those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Open Your Heart to a Senior Program started a free grocery shopping assistance service at the end of April to benefit elderly, disabled and homebound residents in Westmoreland County.

Bortz of Greensburg has helped three elderly ladies get their groceries so far through the service.

“I felt called to serve and to give back to the community,” Bortz said. “I have the time and the energy and wanted to be a part of that.”

To place a grocery order, customers must call the United Way office in Greensburg at 724-205-6282 and leave a message stating their name, phone number and area of residence.

Once approved, individuals are put in contact with volunteers who will take grocery orders and payment.

Volunteers then shop and deliver the items directly to individuals’ homes free of charge. The service can be used once every two weeks, and customers can expect no more than a 2- to 3-day turnaround.

Bortz is a retired social worker who volunteers at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg and likes “keeping busy” with family and friends.

When she delivered the groceries, she spent some time talking with the ladies.

Bortz said one of them was “really struggling,” so she called the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging to get the woman assistance.

Even though specific location requests usually will be fulfilled, most of the shopping occurs at the Charley Family Shop ’n Save stores in Murrysville and Greensburg.

“We heard from (the) Charleys that elderly (residents) were calling to say they didn’t feel comfortable coming in to shop,” said Alyssa Cholodofsky, the Westmoreland region director of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. “We wanted to help the regular shoppers who couldn’t get into the store.”

The Open Your Heart to a Senior Program has offered grocery shopping assistance for years, but when the pandemic hit, shoppers couldn’t physically be taken to the stores anymore.

“Many older adults don’t have the technology to do curbside (pickup) or the money to pay for delivery fees,” Cholodofsky said.

When the new delivery service was implemented, United Way needed to find younger volunteers for the time being. This would help keep the elderly volunteers safe and allow them to stay in their homes.

These new volunteers were recruited from two organizations — Voices of Westmoreland and Charter Oak Church.

Since the service began at the end of April, 45 volunteers have made 17 shopping trips for 13 households.

“I’m very happy to be a part of the United Way organization,” Bortz said. “I think they do a great job in serving the underprivileged and filling certain needs in the community.”

The free grocery shopping assistance service will be offered by United Way through the next few months.