Smiles on the faces of Marge Emerson, and Peggy and Percy Keifer brightened as they greeted the Northside Nutrition Center staff as they delivered meals Thursday.
Many area home-bound senior citizens perk up during the holiday season when their friends from the center prepare and deliver meals in advance. They include meals for the weekend, as well as the three days next week the facility will be closed for Christmas.
Workers also are stocking freezers and pantries with food to use in case of a weather emergency.
As Tammy Kassinger, center director, and driver Paige Moon brought food, they also delivered gifts to many from the Department of Corrections and Probation and Parole.
This time of year, Kassingers’ staff work on a combination of things. Not only are they preparing regular meals, but also meals for the weekend, extra meals for the days the center is closed for the holidays, and emergency packs for bad weather.
Prep kitchen staff comes in at 5:30 a.m. to cook and fill trays at 8 a.m.
“The 450 dinners are ready to be delivered at 9 or 9:30 and we are out on the road,” Kassinger said.
They were delivering the extra meals on a Thursday just in case someone is not home. If so, they hopefully will be able to catch them on Friday.
Kassinger said, making and delivering extra food came about when the government “realized our meals were the only meals they would get. They approved a second meal.”
“Actually, Medicaid approves and tells us they are eligible,” Kassinger said.
Some receive boxes of five or seven meals for the entire week. The problem they ran into is many of them have no storage. Many seniors complain about a lack of storage apace. Many of them have “little bitty refrigerators,” Kassinger said.
In addition to the meals, one group got a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to help “buy bags of goodies and we deliver to our seniors,” Kassinger said. The list includes things they cannot buy with food stamps, like dish soap.
The team “delivers community food boxes to the people we have on our list,” she said. “As far as I know, we are the only ones in Butler County to deliver supplemental food boxes to seniors, We deliver 10 of the 30-pound boxes a month. We take bread once a month and milk every week.”
Kassinger said, the routes are 160 miles a day and the longest route is about three hours.
Moon said, she delivers about 58 meals a day and does it in an hour or hour and a half.
Kassinger said her drivers take meals to “M Highway and to Batson Mini Farms and south we go past Pratt’s Welding.”
Emergency meal packs contain three days of protein, vegetable, grain, fruit and milk for bad weather days.
Area churches help collect canned food for the emergency meal pack so the center will have enough cans for the boxes. Another church donates money and the Philos Sunday School Class at Fellowship General Baptist Church packs bags filled with a variety of goodies.
As Moon pulled up to a home, she reached for a meal and juice. Without looking at her list, she knows whether the resident gets a frozen meal or not. If they have a dog, most days she grabs a bone for the pet. She provides those herself.
Moon said she has not worked a year at the center, but “I am so attached to everyone.”
They asked the seniors what they wanted for Christmas. Many wanted warm blankets, fruit baskets, groceries and gift cards to Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Kassinger said, “They love Kentucky Fried Chicken, but most wanted a warm blanket or a warm night gown.”
“I actually try to get out on routes as much as I can. I miss them too.” Kassinger said.
Moon said, “When I lose clients, it really upsets me. Not only do they get close to you, you get close to them.”
Kassinger recalls, when one lady’s husband passed away, she added an extra 15 minutes to her day to visit with the lady.
“When she passed away, it was like I lost my grandma. My grandmother is 98 and still living. She used to volunteer at the nutrition center,” Kassinger said.
Kassinger works with Older American Act, Federal State and Butler County Senior Tax funding.
In April, Subaru has its Share the Love fundraiser. Kassinger said, Subaru over the past 11 years, has helped the meals on wheels network with more than 2.2 million meals.
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