Officials at Meals on Wheels Plus in Abilene said they pay special attention to their elderly clients during the summer months.

The organization has been providing lunches to the elderly for decades, but during the summer they are also concerned about heat stroke and dehydration.

"We're real concerned about heat and how it affects our clients because heat's especially hard on the children and the elderly," said Betty Bradley, executive director of Meals on Wheels Plus in Abilene.

Volunteers typically come in daily and deliver food to client's homes. Many clients are low-income and cannot afford food or air conditioning.  

"Many of our clients don't have air conditioning, or can't afford to run it because of the high electricity bills," Bradley said. "Most of our clients live on a fixed income that's quite low."

To help protect clients from soaring temperatures, volunteers are trained to look for warning signs. 

"We're always aware of a home that is not air-conditioned," said Betty Nelson, a volunteer for about 25 years.

Bradley said they also have a program to help clients who can't buy their own fan.

"We do have a fan fund where people can make donations to Meals on Wheels that we use to purchase box fans and then we donate them to our clients," said Bradley.