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Dick Potter has been delivering food for the Highlands Meals on Wheels for more than three decades — about a third of his life.

At 93, Potter reports three times a week to the kitchen at Citizens Hose firehall in Harrison to package food and hit the road for distribution to Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge.

“I love the people here,” said Potter, who retired from Allegheny Ludlum, now ATI. “It’s a second family.”

On July 1, Potter and others will make their last deliveries when the service shutters operations.

“Things being what they are in the world, volunteers and donations are both getting slim,” director Karen Vecchi said.

“We don’t have enough cash or helpers to continue. The younger ones don’t want to take over.”

The Highlands Meals on Wheels has been serving the elderly, shut-ins and others for 51 years with no income or age stipulations.

Founded in April 1971, the kitchen once operated from the basement of Faith Lutheran Church in Harrison before moving to Citizens Hose along Burtner Road in the early 2000s.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, about 10 volunteers gather in the kitchen well before it’s time to work. They have coffee and catch up, saying they enjoy the fellowship as well as the outreach.

Potter is the longest-serving volunteer with the group. On Monday, he joined amateur chef John Kania in the kitchen to make chicken a la king, biscuits and peach parfait.

“They needed help so here I am,” said Kania, who preps food for about 45 clients.

In its heyday, that number was triple what it is today. While there was once 18 drivers, that has dwindled to enough for nine routes.

Still, the group has their system down pat, forming an assembly line to pack sandwiches, milk and cookies into a lunch bag before turning their attention to hot meals for dinner.

“We give them enough that they can easily get two meals out of each,” Vecchi said.

Lunches often consist of light fare: soup, fruit, salad, dessert and milk.

Dinners are more elaborate, ranging from ham and scalloped potatoes to tacos.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that we are not government run,” Vecchi said.

Clients pay $3 a day — if they can — for the delivery.

“One day last week, we had one person pay,” she said. “We fed them all on basically $3.”

The group receives donations from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, local businesses and residents.

But the food more often than not is paid for from the group’s savings, which isn’t sustainable, Vecchi said.

Another Allegheny Ludlum retiree, Linda Prager, joined the team about seven years ago. She said her parents once were clients, so it was an easy decision to come on board.

“I wanted to pay it back a little,” she said. “We have a good time.”

Volunteer Ruth Ikenberg said she was recruited 18 years ago by her “church ladies,” and she has never regretted giving part of her week to help out.

“I’m sad to see it come to a close,” she said.

Vecchi said there is always a chance a “big surprise donation” will land at their door, but that would only solve half the problem.

“There’s no one to cook the food and put it in bags,” she said. “Thirty to 40 years ago, we had donations and there was a lot more involvement, but it’s just not like that anymore.

“In a perfect world, this would’ve lasted forever.”

Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya at 724-226-7726, tpanizzi@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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