After nearly 22 years at the helm of Langley’s Meals on Wheels program, life has taken Pauline Huth in a different direction.

Earlier this fall, Huth handed over the keys to the non-profit agency, which makes its home in an office above Jonker Nissan on the Langley Bypass, to its new administrator, Dave Stark, before moving on to manage a supported housing facility for seniors in Cloverdale.

Huth was involved with Langley’s Meals on Wheels from its earliest days.

When she moved to Langley in 1987, she thought she’d volunteer as a driver for the local program while she looked for work.

“It was operated by the Langley Help Network. George Vandergugten had taken it on temporarily until it could find a new home,” Huth said of the program, which delivers nutritious meals to people who, for whatever reason, are unable to prepare their own.

“The day I went there, he asked what I knew about Meals on Wheels.”

As former co-ordinator of Meals on Wheels in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. Huth was well informed about not only the purpose of the program, but the finer details of its execution as well.

“He asked how long it would take me to turn it into a non-profit.”

With help putting together a board of directors, it took about 18 months to get the agency up and running as a registered charity, she said.

Working with corporate sponsor Nissan Canada and other non-profits in Langley, the program flourished for the next 22 years. It currently delivers 50 meals each day.

Right from the start, said Huth, volunteers were lining up to help.

“This community is amazing. I don’t think I advertised for volunteers more than a handful of times. People just come forward.

“On snowy days, people will call and say, ‘I have a four-wheel drive. Can I help?’

“This is a community where people care and people give.”

That’s not surprising, perhaps, given the program’s value to the community.

“I see it as more than a meal,” Huth said.

“Sometimes we’re the only outside contact those people have on a daily basis.

“We visit. We create friendships. It’s reaching out and touching someone.”

Meals on Wheels has always been instrumental in helping people to remain in their homes as they age, she said. “Because that’s where they want to be.”

Huth has appreciated the partnerships formed by Meals on Wheels and other non-profits within Langley, as well as “an excellent board of directors and a wonderful staff.”

Regarding her decision to move on, Huth said: “There’s a time and a season for everything. God leads you in a different way and you know there will be a leader (to carry on).

“Dave was a gift. He was the right person at the right time.”

Stark, for his part, spent 20 years working in Vancouver’s non-profit sector.

More recently, he’s been concerned with food security through his work as co-ordinator of Langley Food First, helping to ensure everyone in the community has access to and can afford the food they need to lead active, healthy lives.

In that role, Stark, who is relatively new to Langley, said he has been able to knock on doors, meet people and get to know the community well.

“I was impressed with both the giving aspects of both the organizations and the people of Langley,” he said.

“There is this culture, a family of wonderful organizations doing amazing things.”

Among the goals he hopes to realize at Meals on Wheels, are raising the agency’s profile within the community and increasing the number of clients served.

The numbers have dropped over the years, he said, as many seniors have gone into assisted living facilities. But he has no doubt there are still people out there in need of regular, healthy meals who aren’t getting them.

“I’d also like to diversify our base of funding. Right now, much of it comes from gaming.”

Stark has his eye on creating partnerships with corporate sponsors.

“That’s what I’ll be working on.

“Getting the word out. That’s what I look forward to doing.”