fundraising campaign, and indeed the organisation provides some. How many Island residents, for example, did Meals on Wheels provide with a hot, home-delivered meal last week? More than 100, up some 700 percent since the registered charity first set up shop in Bermuda in 1975. And how, exactly, did Meals on Wheels do it? With the help of dozens of volunteers, who converge on St. Paul's Christian Education Centre in Paget three mornings a week to deliver the hot meals Island-wide. In recent years, however, the church that has provided the cooking facilities for Meals on Wheels for nearly all of its existence has proved increasingly inadequate, and the charity, which only dished out some 45 meals per week in its very early stages, has been forced to look elsewhere. "With a dedicated facility,'' a Meals on Wheels fundraising pamphlet reads, "we hope to meet the ever-increasing demand for our meals and expand delivery from 100 to 250 meals a day three days a week, with the hope of eventually providing meals five days a week.'' As luck and some scouting would have it, moreover, the new Meals on Wheels facility, which "will handle the (organisation's) entire operation, from the storage, preparation and cooking of the food to the pick-up and delivery,'' will not be too far away from the current one.

Proposed for a $180,000 parcel of land on nearby South Shore Road, the new Meals on Wheels "headquarters,'' which is to measure some 74 feet by 32 feet, will retain the central location of its old facility at St. Paul's.

"Being outside of (Hamilton), with the Modern Mart right across the road, is very convenient,'' Mrs. Kay Robinson, a co-founder of Meals on Wheels and the chairman of the current building committee, said recently. "We can go in almost every direction without getting into heavy traffic.'' Indeed, a modern new headquarters that can serve as many Meals on Wheels users as possible will be more than just a convenience for the organisation, whose profile has been raised by the current campaign.

In all likelihood, it is going to be a necessity.

"We seem,'' said Mrs. Robinson, "to be getting more and more calls for our services as result of the campaign advertising, which means, of course, that the need for a better facility will also increase.'' Added the other Meals on Wheels co-founder, Mrs. Dorothy Evans, who came up with the idea for a Bermudian version of the charity after a vacation she took in Canada: "We've kept a low profile up until now because we've been limited by space in what we could do.'' Impressively, too, the current fundraising campaign marks the first time in the organisation's 20-year history that it's gone to the public for support in running its service.

Normally, it relies on the generosity of benefactors and some Government support to keep its operations going.

In addition, it also charges its users, who include diabetics, low-salt recipients and dialysis patients, $3 for each of their meals, which have been developed with the input of dieticians and generally consist of soup or juice, a mean course of meat and vegetables and dessert.

"Although we are registered as a charity,'' said Mrs. Robinson, "we are really a service. We simply got registered so that people could donate to us.'' And indeed they have. Since its fundraising campaign, which has a target of $1 million, was launched on June 1, Meals on Wheels has received some $13,000 in donations from its membership alone and a sizable $200,000 pledge from the Bank of Bermuda, putting it well within its goals of raising more than half of its target by September and of breaking ground on the project soon.

In addition to the fundraising aspect of the campaign, Meals on Wheels is also using the added publicity that is coming with it to clear up a few misconceptions about the service, which has its origins in postwar Britain.

For one thing, Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Robinson said, it is not the users themselves who often solicit delivered meals, but more likely a hospital social worker who senses a need in a just-released patient or family members, doctors and district nurses who make a request on behalf of recipients.

Secondly, the two women said, it is not only the elderly or infirm who partake of Meals on Wheels, although those groups do make up a large part of its user base.

"I remember a rugby player,'' Mrs. Evans said by way of example, "who was incapacitated after an accident on the field and had to use our service. So it isn't only the old and the sick. We'll serve anyone who's in need.'' Given such, it is only appropriate that an organisation that has asked for public help only once in the past 20 years be given a hand on its own behalf now.

MEAL PLAN -- Meals on Wheels co-founders Mrs. Dorothy Evans (left) and Mrs.

Kay Robinson examine a brochure for the organisation's current fundraising campaign. In aid of the organisation's new building project, the campaign marks the first time in its 20-year history that Meals on Wheels has formally gone to the public for help.

NEW HOME -- This artist's impression shows Meals on Wheels proposed new facility on South Shore Road, Paget.

MEALS ON WHEEL FACT FILE Here are some key facts about Meals on Wheels: Founded: 1975 Founders: Mrs. Dorothy evans and Mrs. Kay Robinson Meals served per day: 100 New location: South Shore Road Size of fundraising campaign $1 million