by Garrick Moritz, Gazette
Garretson Area meals on wheels has been defunct for several years, since the Garretson Senior center closed.
Rebecca Behnke, head of Nutrition at the Center for Active Generations in Sioux Falls is no stranger to setting up these programs.
“I am responsible for managing the meals on wheels program in 5 counties in this greater region,” she said. “The former meals on wheels program for Garretson became defunct before I started here, but I understand that it was valued in the community and a loss when it went under. So, this process of bringing it back started when I made a trip up to Garretson, and talked to the local business community. I researched Garretson and met Chef Omar, and well, he said yes. We worked with people at the Treasure Chest to find our initial volunteer drivers, we started the program up and by word of mouth it got popular very quickly.”
The new Meals on Wheels for the Garretson area was kicked into gear just this past September.
“There is no question in my mind all that this was a need in our community,” said Omar Thornton of O So Good Restaurant. “My thought was that I could make the food happen, we only need to be able to get it to the people. Rebecca and volunteers handled the paperwork, and Dave Greenly, a longtime friend and fellow local business owner volunteered to organize the volunteer delivery drivers.”
“Chef Omar and his staff gone above and beyond what most chefs do for this program,” Behnke said. “Instead of just giving people a steady rotating menu, O’s gives participants in the programs a lot of meal options that they order in advance. Seven different meat options, choice of soups or salads and desserts. All healthy, covering all the food groups. This is just one of many ways we can keep people more secure in their homes, instead of going into a nursing home or an assisted living center.”
“Taking care of people is part of my job,” said Thornton. “This is just another means of doing that. These are my customers and I want to provide them the O’s experience, which means the best food I can make. I want them to have something they enjoy getting and eating, while being nutritious and satisfying. Yes, this helps the restaurant too. We do get paid for this, and it keeps us busy and working during otherwise slow hours, but we’re also doing it because these are our friends and neighbors, who we care about. Especially this year when things have been so bad for everybody, and a lot of these folks are afraid to leave their homes. Our volunteer drivers are the real heroes here. Sometimes they are the only face someone will see on a given week. This is why I encourage anyone who wants to help, to talk to Dave. We can always use more drivers!”
Continued on Part 2 - Mailed subscriber or higher level account required to view
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE NOW TO ALL MAIL SUBSCRIBERS
All mailed issue subscribers can receive access to the full version of some articles, archives, and more. To claim, create a user account - we'll verify the current mailed subscription and get your access activated! (Please allow up to 3 business days for activation.) Alternately, you can pay for your subscription here and automatically get a mailed subscriber log-in.
