Senior Center Provides Food Bags To Home-bound Residents
For the holidays, the Noel Senior Center is delivering food bags to home-bound seniors. Each senior will also receive a bag of fresh fruit and candy and a Christmas card.
For the holidays, the Noel Senior Center is delivering food bags to home-bound seniors.
Volunteers came to the center Monday morning to help pack 100 bags of groceries. According to Louine Gardner, director of the senior center, all the supplies for the bags came from funds raised by the McDonald County Senior Board and donations of food or money. Little Debbie donated 100 boxes of snacks — one for every bag. The bags contain peanut butter and jelly, hot chocolate, canned goods, cornbread mix, paper products, pastas, toiletries and more. The large, sturdy grocery bags were donated by Braum’s.
Each senior will also receive a bag of fresh fruit and candy and a Christmas card.
Volunteer Cleo Crosby said, “From the time it’s over, they’ll start over and work all year raising money again. This is the only county that gives out bags like this.”
Gardner said the center has 70 home-bound people who will receive deliveries over Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They live in Noel, Southwest City, Lanagan, Pineville, south to the state line and to the eastern part of the county, she said. The driver who delivers meals for the home-bound will deliver the bags. The remaining 30 bags will be distributed to seniors who come to the center for a meal each day.
Volunteer Lea Orlick said, “People don’t realize what we do. If they don’t come here to eat, they have no idea. For years I said, ‘I’m not going over there with those old people.’ But now I come every day and I realize what a blessing it is.”
Crosby said there are several volunteers besides the board, but the board does most of the fundraising for the Christmas bags.
Gardner said, once a month, they have people volunteer to come to the center and entertain, and they set out a box for canned goods for whoever would like to donate.
“That’s how we got some of them,” she said.
Gardner continued, “We do a lot. If it wasn’t for the board, this couldn’t happen. I’m thankful for the board I have. Also, the staff helps.”
She said the packing of bags was chaotic but fun. Among those who came to volunteer were Bob and Naomi Cartwright, Joe Plummer, Carolyn and Frank Williams and some of the board members.
“We’ve got great friends of our center,” Gardner said.
Asked how she felt about doing the project, she said, “I feel very blessed that I can do it.”