Meals on Wheels only occasionally receives attention beyond announcements in the newspaper when it is looking for volunteer drivers. That’s because the program works very well. But it could work better, or at least more often. LD 1552, before the Legislature tomorrow, would expand the Meals on Wheels and, at the same time, establish a telephone service that would answer questions for seniors in need of assistance.

Meals on Wheels daily brings hot meals to thousands of homebound Maine residents — in 1998, it delivered more than 680,000 meals. The $150,000 in additional funding that it is requesting would allow it to serve another 37,500 meals, providing seniors not only with nutritious food but with what may be their only personal contact of the day. Supporters of the program can easily demonstrate a need to expand, and its reputation for good service ought to persuade lawmakers to support the new funding.

The telephone service is similarly a worthy idea. With additional staff from the Area Agency on Aging and Legal Services for the Elderly, the 800-service would provide seniors with one-stop calling, speeding answers to those whose questions can be solved over the phone or allowing AAA to provide direct service to approximately 24,000 more seniors each year. And, to the relief of anyone who calls, the line would not be answered by machine but by a real, knowledgable person.

Some of the services that the phone service could provide include transfers directly to other agencies for help, referrals to legal services or help with question on Medicare, food stamps, long-term care or nutrition services. AAA once had the funds to make personal visits, but lost them during budget cuts earlier this decade. Those cuts hurt a half dozen agencies that relied on AAA to put seniors in need of services in touch with the proper group.

Free telephone help lines and daily hot meals are hardly glamorous stuff, but they can be essential, even life-saving connections for thousands of seniors in Maine. For a relatively small sum, lawmakers can and should strengthen those ties by supporting LD 1552.