I recently stumbled onto some nostalgic photos and info in our computer system; most notable for me was the logo I’ve included on the right. When Senior Life Resources began its work in 1974 as Benton-Franklin Council on Aging, the meals program was called Bread ‘n Butter. At that time, funding was available for only 12 clients!
45 years later, we’ll serve well over 200,000 meals to about 2,400 clients in 2019. To say we’ve come a long way is an understatement. In my 10+ years with Meals on Wheels, I’ve seen us move from our leased, cramped location on Gage, where we shared offices and literally had to take turns making phone calls, to our own Fowler Street Campus where we have our functional new offices and amazing Central Kitchen. We are so grateful for the work and support that brought us to this point!
We’ve certainly evolved, but we’re not done. If you visit our campus today, you’ll see that we’re adding a large metal building. As wonderful as our Central Kitchen is, our walk-in freezer is bursting at the seams. The new building will house a second walk-in freezer that will allow us to pro-duce our own frozen meals for clients to eat on weekends and holidays. We know it’s important to take this step so we can provide meals that are as nutritious, economical, and tasty as possible.
We’ll continue to work toward improvement in other ways as well. We always have ideas for new programs and partner-ships, recipes and menu items. I hope that in 45 years, our current operation will seem quaint and old-fashioned, because it will mean that we’ve worked to grow to meet the needs of our community.
Kristi Thien
Nutrition Services Director
