MPs got a 5.5% pay rise – another $8,000 a year. The Prime Minister complained. The minimum adult wage rose just 50 cents an hour – or $1,040 a year. The Council of Trade Unions complained.

But even on the equivalent of $8 an hour – about half the minimum wage – there was not one whimper, not one bleat from the meals on wheels drivers of Mount Maunganui and Papamoa. They do their work selflessly, uncomplainingly, and cheaply.

Dishing it up – Red Cross' Leslie Holliswith some of her colleagues.

'It's a very simple job,” says Red Cross co-ordinator Leslie Hollis. 'It's only an hour a day and it's satisfying. It's nice to be helpful.”

They are the Red Cross meals on wheels drivers. They deliver nourishment daily to the elderly, the sick, the infirm, and the incapable – for $8 an hour, just enough to cover the gas.

'It's not the best paid job in the world,” says Leslie, 'heavens no! It's not a proper living wage – it's just a donation to cover expenses – and we wouldn't mind if we didn't get it.”

It might seem mischievous drawing parallels between an MPs wage and that of a ‘donation' to a volunteer Red Cross driver. But it assists the understanding and appreciation of how and why some people are happy to give back to the community in which they live.

Leslie wanted to do some community work when she retired. She is a volunteer, a giver, so she is uncomfortable talking money and wages.

So let's talk numbers, like 25,550.

That's the number of hospital meals Leslie has personally supervised the delivery of to the needy and hungry in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa.

Each day, Monday to Friday (they get frozen provisions for the weekend with their Friday meal), 52 weeks of the year. And in Leslie's case for the last five years, that's 25,550 meals.

'And yes I do lie in bed at night feeling very satisfied,” she says. It is much deserved.

Now isn't meals on wheels an antidote for a couple of the curses for older people – loneliness and boredom?

'We don't have time to stop and chat,” she adds. 'It's just a hello, enjoy your meal, and then on your way because other people are waiting for their meals. But they do look forward to a little bit of contact.”

Here are some more numbers that define Leslie's operation:

21 – the number of drivers on her roster. She could do with another one.

2 – the number of drivers used each day.

1 – the number of duties each driver picks up every fortnight. They can do more.

6 or 7 – the number of meals each driver delivers each day.

It's interesting that despite supervising the delivery of 25,550 meals, Leslie has never performed any quality control, has never lifted a lid and slipped a ‘pinkie' in to taste what she is delivering.

And she's never even wondered what it's like. 'Never thought about it,” she says. 'It's just good, nutritious hospital food. It has a tight plastic lid anyway and we are just too busy getting the job done.”

Apart from that, someone at the hospital calculates exactly the right amount of food for the roster and there's never anything left over.

But you must be able to smell the food?

'Yes, sometimes you can smell the food – sometimes it smells delicious.” Good answer.

One last number – it's important for Leslie and the chef back in the hospital kitchen.

That number is 0. That's exactly the number of complaints Leslie has received in her five years of delivering meals on wheels.

'The food is gratefully received from people unable to cater for themselves, especially the old men living on their own,” she adds.

But not one complaint in five years about hospital food?

'I just think because they are elderly and their sense of smell and taste isn't what it used to be, they don't have the same expectations.”

And has there been a standout moment perhaps?

Well there was the time Leslie was delivering a meal when she discovered the door open and walked in. The woman was propped up in a chair and Leslie couldn't shake her awake. She called the ambulance and never saw that woman again. She hopes she ended up in an old folks' home.

And there was the other old dear who insisted she ‘didn't get a meal today'. Leslie checked the roster and sure enough the woman did get a meal on Wednesdays. 'But it's Tuesday,” said the old lady. She had lost a day somewhere.

'They are really so sweet, so lovely,” laughs Leslie.

When they are next giving out gongs to nice, caring people, Leslie Hollis should be in the mix, although I suspect it wouldn't be appreciated because she gets her rewards every day.

'It's just nice to be helpful”.

By the way, Leslie is looking for another driver or two. Do you have a car, can you give an hour each fortnight, and do you have some people skills?

Call Leslie on: (07) 575 6527.