In the 60s, a group of dedicated women started a home-delivered meal program to serve anyone in need, regardless of income level. Mobile Meals of Toledo (MMoT) delivered their first meals on December 4, 1967 to three clients. Over the ensuing three years, the all-volunteer organization delivered nearly 75,000 meals.
Skip ahead almost 60 years and Mobile Meals of Toledo (MMOT) serves more than 1,900 clients a year with over 250 volunteers, annually delivering 300,000 nutritious meals to homebound individuals.
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The MMOT chef’s life at a glance MMoT’s Kitchen Director, Chef Linda Paetz, makes clear that the organization delivers much more than food. Here is a portion of MLiving’s conversation with Chef Linda
How did you get involved with MMOT? After 12 years of catering, four of those co-owning KL Katering (we sold the business when my partner died), I was interviewing for full-time positions. A gentleman who interviewed me for another job was on the Mobile Meals board. He asked me to come interview for the Kitchen Manager job. My background in social work and my culinary degree finally came together with this opportunity.
What does being a part of this organization mean to you? My staff and I come to work every day knowing we provide delicious, nutritious meals to an underserved senior population.
What do organizations like this mean for our communities? Mobile Meals is not just a meal service. Our drivers and volunteers are often the only contact with the outside world for a senior. Our volunteers are trained to perform wellness checks and to report back anything that seems unusual.
What challenges do you and your organization face? Supply chain issues; it seems there is always something that is not available, so we make substitutions. And of course, for any non-profit in these uncertain times, funding. We rely on the generous support from the Toledo community, financially through both corporate and private donations, along with the time from our volunteers.
What are the greatest rewards of your career? I love to feed people. I’ve been cooking since I was four with my late mother and grandmother. And now I co-own my own successful catering company while also cooking to serve the elderly in our community.
When did you get started as a chef? I went to Monroe County Community College (MCCC) in 2010 after 22 years in a different career. I was 43 when I went to culinary school. It just took me that long to finally figure out what I wanted to be in life.
Do you do a lot of cooking outside of work? I love to cook at home with my sons Adam and Jacob whenever we can find time to be together. I still cater occasionally for long-time customers, and I teach Adult-Ed Culinary at MCCC.
Is there anyone you look up to as a mentor, and why? It’s not just one person. My grandmother was my first cooking inspiration. Julia Child my first TV chef mentor. Then there are my culinary school colleagues and current co-workers, who I call for advice.
Do you follow any cooking shows? The Bear, and anything Anthony Bourdain did. Recently, I’ve been listening to autobiographies as audiobooks: Anthony (Bourdain), Julia (Childs), Ina (Garten), and Grant Achatz.
When you’re not in the kitchen, what will people find you doing? Spending time with friends and family, traveling, riding my motorcycle or chilling on the lake. Maybe binge-watching some mindless TV.
Do you have any creeds or mottos you live your life by? I live by Anthony Bourdain’s words: “Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at four o’clock in the afternoon in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think you may have nothing in common with. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you. But have a drink with them anyway. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride.”
Is there anything specific about MMOT or what you do that we might have missed? I am so lucky to have a great staff that has been with MMOT an average of eight plus years. That is unheard of in a kitchen. I can’t do what I do without their work and dedication to feeding our seniors.
