Congratulations to Volunteer of the Quarter, Barbara Lucas, a part of our Salinas warehouse distribution team! A volunteer at MOWSV since December 2021, Barbara started with us during the Covid pandemic, when we needed all the volunteers we could get due to the increase in homebound seniors! She was drawn to volunteering at Meals on Wheels because of the stories her mother-in-law shared with her. Barbara’s mother-in-law had been a Meals on Wheels volunteer in many of the states that she had resided in for over 40 years and told Barbara that it brought her such joy. This influenced Barbara’s decision to volunteer in the Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley warehouse. In addition, Barbara stated that she has enjoyed volunteering throughout the years including her time as a volunteer at San Carlos School where her sons attended when they were younger and at the SPCA. 

“To be a part of providing an essential service that is needed in our community and especially our homebound seniors,” is Barbara’s favorite part of volunteering with MOWSV. “My job in the warehouse is a task-oriented commitment, that I find very fulfilling.” As an avid gym member, Barbara works out every day and finds that her physical tasks in the warehouse are a good way to start the morning. Prior to volunteering, Barbara started her career in the insurance industry and after years of being a stay-at-home mom, returned to work in claims litigation for businesses for 13 years. Upon her retirement from the commercial insurance industry, Barbara jumped into volunteering with Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley.

Barbara lives in Salinas with her husband, a professor at the Naval Post Graduate school and her cat Lulu. It was her husband’s position at NPS that brought them to Monterey County from Southern California over 20 years ago. The couple raised their 2 sons in the Corral de Tierra community. Both sons still live in California, one in North San Jose and the other in La Jolla, which allows them to visit often. Besides her weekly volunteer hours at MOWSV, Barbara enjoys group exercise classes at her local gym. “It’s amazing what exercise can do for the body – it’s as essential as food!”