Special deliveries by St Louis
DRIVERS DELIVER THREE COURSE MEALS TO 25 ISOLATED PEOPLE
EVERY day 25 vulnerable people in our community get nutritious, freshly prepared three-course meals delivered to their doors, by the staff of St Louis Day Care Centre in Ramsgrange.
Business has shot up as more and more people sign up for the three-course meal, which costs a mere €8.
Greeted like a godsend, the meals also offer a social point of contact for the people – the majority of whom are cocooning, meaning they cannot wander farther than their front gate or the end of their back garden.
St Louis Daycare Centre Manager Laura Rowe said meal deliveries are made up to a 25 mile radius from Ramsgrange and everyone on their delivery list has enough food to get them through the weeks.
‘On Friday we deliver three meals for the whole weekend. They are all cartoned up, hot and ready to be eaten. They get three courses: soup, dinner and dessert for €8.’
The busy kitchen crew at the centre in the heart of the village use fresh ingredients sourced locally to make the meals and use hygienic practices ensuring the food is properly prepared and refrigerated prior to delivery by the two delivery drivers.
The service doesn’t stop at the meal drop off, however.
‘Our staff have assisted some people with showers and have gotten medicines for them and the local newspaper, whatever they need. One lady asked us and we brought coal to her door. We are not only available to our regular customers but to the wider community as well. People with underlying conditions are asking us to shop for them also.’
For many cocooning people the past fortnight has been extremely challenging.
Laura said: ‘We are hearing from people every day about how much they miss us and how lonely they are. One lady is just walking around her garden; it’s the isolation and loneliness. Some of these people would have been in to us every day, five days a week. We are very conscious of regularly contacting the customers who are on their own and are very vulnerable. Some have medical issues and our visit mean the world to them.’
Going above and beyond for their customers has seen a St Louis nurse even check the bloods of a few people during their rounds and laundry is taken and washed for a few customers.
‘Only this week people are trying to get a handle on how to