Mr. Herb, as he is known by just about everyone, is a part of our Home Court Kitchen team.
For more than 14 years, Mr. Herb has shown up.
First with Friendship Trays. Then with Nourish Up’s meals program.
Devoted. Spirited. Dedicated. Loyal.
Just last week, Mr. Herb turned 72.
His life outside of Nourish Up has not always been simple. But through it all, he shows up.
Every day.
In the Home Court Kitchen, presented by the Charlotte Hornets, Mr. Herb is often one of the very first people to arrive at our quiet Hunger Hub, in the wee hours of the morning. If you watch the opening scene of this video, you’ll hear his version of radical compassion: the familiar jingle of his keys as he makes his way across the warehouse floor.
Then he gets to work.
Making sure our Meals on Wheels recipients are taken care of. Safely. Carefully. Completely.
Supporting our mission fully. Because that’s who he is.
Mr. Herb has never delivered a Meals on Wheels route. He hasn’t spent his days knocking on neighbors’ doors or chatting at their front doors.
But he has always known his part.
And he has believed in it.
That’s one of the beautiful things about the Meals on Wheels team. It takes a village. Drivers. Kitchen staff. Volunteers. Packers. Coordinators. People behind the scenes whose names our recipients might never know.
But every one of them is part of what arrives at that door.
Compassion. Nourishment. Care.
Here in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Meals on Wheels—and Friendship Trays before it—is woven into the fabric of our community. Ask almost anyone, and they’ll have a story. A mom who delivered. Someone who volunteered with their grandparent.
The lightbulb almost always goes off.
Oh. Friendship Trays!
Oh. Meals on Wheels!
Mr. Herb is an intrinsic and VITAL part of that story.
But, in August, something unexpected happened.
Mr. Herb had a medical situation that required surgery. He needed time away from work to recover. And for a while, he needed a very specific diet.
He needed… Meals on Wheels.
And our team—HIS team—responded.
Martha went to check on Mr. Herb today.
The first thing he told her when she asked how he was doing was that his team was taking good care of him.
Think about that.
For more than a decade, Mr. Herb has been one of the people taking care of the team—and the people we serve.
Now the team was taking care of him.
Mr. Herb said that while he has always understood what the Meals on Wheels program does, experiencing it himself has given him an entirely different feeling and understanding of the service we provide to our neighbors.
Sometimes, those neighbors are our co-workers, too.
He could not be more grateful for the support he’s received.
He’s doing well. Regaining strength. Getting a good night’s rest.
He’s also antsy.
Because, of course, Mr. Herb is ready to come back to work.
We miss him while he’s gone. But we know he’s being taken care of.
And maybe that’s the best part of this story.
He gets to see his work through a different lens now.
He knows what it feels like to have someone show up for you when you need it.
To have a meal arrive when you can’t quite manage it yourself.
To know that somebody is thinking about you.
That somebody cares.
Mr. Herb has helped make that feeling possible for someone else many times.
Now he feels it himself.
When this simple, dedicated man walks back into the Hunger Hub, jingling those keys, ready to get to work, we will welcome him with open arms.
Welcome back, Mr. Herb.
We’ve missed you.
