August 2011 - OutreachNC Magazine

22 OutreachNC • August 2011
Rotary serves up
thrills on wheels
By Melanie Coughlin
Special to OutreachNC
Once a month, Ethelene
Lassiter eats a nice
nine-ounce centercut
tenderloin and salad from
Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Apex. It
is delivered right to her house by
two chipper men, both members
of the Rotary Club of Apex. The
dinner is a pleasant change from
the everyday meals delivered by
Meals on Wheels of Wake County.
Ethelene appreciates every
meal —foods she likes such as
collard greens, ribs, barbecue and
beans— but she likes the food
from Carrabba’s best. That one
special meal was the brainchild
of Rotarian John Cicero. Members
of his Rotary regularly delivered
dinners for Meals on Wheels,
and Cicero was the club’s most
enthusiastic volunteer, taking
more shifts than any of his peers.
He says he takes seriously Rotary’s
edict to put service above self, and
he saw a way to do that in Meals
on Wheels.
The organization dates back to World War II, when
the first meals were delivered in canteens to British
servicemen. In the United States, Meals on Wheels
formally launched in Philadelphia in the 1950s. Today,
all 50 states have some sort of Meals on Wheels. Though
not every program is affiliated with the official Meals on
Wheels Association of America, all provide free or lowcost
meals to seniors daily. Meals on Wheels of Moore
County delivers not only to seniors but to anyone who
needs food.
“As good a program as it is, the food is kind of bland
because it is going to people who can’t handle a palate
of spicier foods,” Cicero says. “After delivering for a while,
Photo by Mollie Tobias
Carrabba’s Italian Grill proprietor Andrew Craft, left, hands off Carrabba’s meals to Apex
Rotary Club members, Jason Rackley and John Cicero, for their monthly Meals on Wheels
deliveries, which allows both entities to give back to the Apex community.
www.OutreachNC.com
I thought, ‘I’d love to take these people some real food.’”
Cicero approached Carrabba’s then-manager Eric
Anderson about donating a meal one time. It was a
natural place to make the request because the Apex
Rotary has its weekly meetings at Carrabba’s. Anderson
shocked Cicero by saying he would not donate just one
meal but would instead do it once per month. Anderson’s
own grandmother was involved with Meals on Wheels,
and he understood how the program changed seniors’
lives. After Anderson was plucked to manage a different
Carrabba’s, the new manager, Andrew Kraft, embraced
the idea immediately.
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