NORWICH – The people at Meals on Wheels are busy. Drivers, prep-staff and packers alike breeze through each morning, hustling at their work stations and in their cars, zipping around to make sure 100 seniors in the Norwich area have a nutritious meal.

It’s usually only a quick hello followed by a quick exchange. But the smiles that began in the kitchen of the First Baptist Church on West Park Place always make their way to the front doors, living rooms and senior centers where appreciative elders await their daily visitor.

“They are really nice people,” said volunteer driver Deb Tobey. “You really feel good about it.”

Tobey, along with several other drivers and kitchen volunteers, arrange and deliver roughly 70 meals in and around Norwich, serving 30 more people on site at the community center in the downtown church.

Chenango County Meals on Wheels Director Trudy Irons said the benefits of the service are far-reaching and multifaceted.

“This allows seniors to remain independent,” Irons said. “And their nutrition is so important.”

Irons said the volunteers’ desire to help others is often reciprocated by the clients, whose influence on the volunteers is equally beneficial.

“The drivers love the clients who receive the meals, and the clients really love them,” she said. “It’s rewarding for the drivers.”