Congratulations to Cleda Houmes, Meals on Wheels Salinas Valley’s Volunteer of the Quarter for the Salinas warehouse, fourth quarter of FY 2025–26! Since October 2020, Cleda has shared her quiet dedication, practical spirit, and generous heart in support of the organization’s work. What began as a thoughtful search for the right way to serve has grown into a steady commitment to giving back to the community she has called home for more than forty years.

Before joining Meals on Wheels, Cleda had been considering volunteering for some time, though she was hesitant about delivering meals. Then an email from Meals on Wheels Salinas Valley arrived seeking help with sanitizing meal bags—an opportunity that felt like just the right fit. She stepped forward, and today she continues to help with bag sanitizing as well as fundraising mailers. For Cleda, these tasks are a way to contribute in a small but important measure, supporting the broader mission of serving seniors throughout the Salinas Valley.

Cleda shared that one of her favorite parts of volunteering is knowing that the simple, behind-the-scenes work she does helps free Meals on Wheels staff to focus on other important responsibilities. Her service is a reminder that help comes in many forms and that every contribution matters. To anyone thinking about volunteering, her message is encouraging and practical: there is more than one way to help at Meals on Wheels—offer what you can do.

Cleda’s path to Salinas Valley reflects a life of service, skill, and adventure. After growing up and attending college in Iowa, she served six years in the Navy. Her military service took her first to what was then the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, and later to the West Coast, where she served at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital and met her late husband.

Following her Navy service, Cleda built a career as a nuclear medicine technologist, including thirty years at SVMHS. Her professional life was rooted in care, precision, and dedication—qualities that continue to shine through in her volunteer work today.

After marrying, Cleda and her husband lived in San Jose before making Salinas home. More than four decades later, her ties to the community remain strong, and her volunteer service is one way she continues to invest in the place and people around her.

Beyond Meals on Wheels, Cleda is also a member of the Carmel Crafts Guild, where she has made good friends and nurtured her creative interests. Her hobbies include weaving, tatting—also known as lace making—hiking, reading, and traveling. These pursuits reflect the same curiosity, patience, and appreciation for connection that she brings to her volunteer work.

“Being named Meals on Wheels Volunteer of the Quarter came as a complete surprise,” Cleda shared, and it is an honor she deeply appreciates. For Meals on Wheels Salinas Valley, it is a well-deserved recognition of someone who shows that volunteering does not always have to be highly visible to be deeply valuable. Through her steady support, Cleda helps make the work possible—and reminds others that offering whatever time and talents they can is a meaningful way to serve. Thank you, Cleda!