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Thieves vandalized 3 Meals on Wheels vans in San Leandro to steal gas; disrupting food deliveries to homebound seniors
Meals on Wheels executive director tells me 3 of the nonprofits refrigerated vans were vandalized and gas stolen three times last week. Charlie Deterline says so far this year, there has been a total of 8 such incidents. The nonprofit serves up to 2,500 homebound, older people daily and now, these vandalism and theft . With 3 out of its 6 refrigerated vans waiting for repairs, Deterline says clients may not receive their meals on their regularly scheduled days. To help: www.sosmow.org
San Leandro -
An East Bay nonprofit is dealing with theft and vandalism as it works to serve thousands of homebound seniors every day.
SOS Meals on Wheels in San Leando said a thief/ thieves vandalized their vans to steal gas three times in the last week and there have been similar incidents earlier this year.
The vans were targeted while parked in the nonprofit's parking lot, in front of its offices located in an industrial area.
Now, the nonprofit said it's scrambling to make sure all their clients continue to get meals.
Three refrigerated vans that Meals on Wheels uses to deliver food are now out of commission. Their fuel tanks were damaged by thieves drilling holes to steal gas.
"They were all hit within four nights of each other last week," executive director Charlie Deterline said. The most recent vandalism and theft took place last Thursday during the overnight hours.
"It puts our ability to get to every single senior that's depending on us at risk. We might only be able to get to some of them on any given day," said Deterline.
The vans are used to transport food to hubs for volunteers to pickup, to deliver to thousands of seniors daily in eight cities from Oakland to Fremont.
Deterline said eight vans have been vandalized for fuel so far this year.
"This is the tank that came out of their vandalized van," said John Bridgwater, owner of Doral's Auto Repair.
Meals on Wheels is having its vans repaired at the shop. Each will need a new fuel tank. Bridgwater said the thief gets underneath the van to access the tank.
"They've gone in there with a small drill and poked a hole," said Bridgwater,"That's the hole that all the gasoline can come out of so they've drained all of the tanks."
By stealing gasoline, Deterline said the thieves are robbing seniors of more than meals.
"More than half our clients, the person that comes to the door to bring their meals is the only person they see on a given day," said Deterline. "Frustration and disappointment. Frustration that my team, our volunteers, and our clients have to deal with it."
Meals on Wheels estimated the total of eight vandalism and theft incidents so far cost $16,000.
The nonprofit plans to add security measures, including parking its vans off site in a secure area.
Visit the SOS Meals on Wheels website for more information on how you can support its efforts.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU