The Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene brought back its Meals on Wheels People program on July 5 in an effort to bring food to seniors in need. The program was absent for over two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now set to take location on Tuesdays. Pastor Jason Matters stated the organization aims to provide a place where senior people can ensure their physical requirements for food are met, while likewise providing a socializing opportunity. ” We simply truly desire our church to be of service to the community and for everyone in the community,” Matters said. “We’re simply grateful our earliest members of our community understand that their needs are being taken care of which somebody’s keeping an eye out for them.”

Matters said the church tried to host the Meals on Wheels lunches for a while, but faced some obstacles they had to conquer. ” We started speaking with Meals on Wheels about serving out of the church, but then discovered that our church’s kitchen needed some upgrades to get the county license,” he stated. The church was able to raise money to upgrade its kitchen to fulfill the food security requirements to bring the program back to the community. Every Christmas season, Matters stated the church holds a program called “the singing Christmas tree,” which is made up of six efficiencies that bring in between 300 to 400 attendees. At that event, people have an opportunity to make a monetary donation.

” One of the years, we asked people to offer toward our cooking area redesign so that we might get it fully updated and get our license so that Meals on Wheels might come back to Ridgefield,” Matters stated. “We did the project, got the license all ready, and after that COVID shut everything down.” Matters stated the upgrades to the kitchen area involved the addition of multiple sinks and washing stations, along with a renovation to its serving counter and storage. The church likewise added a freezer. Matters said the procedure took about 3 months to complete. Matters said previous Ridgefield mayor Don Stose was excited to see the Meals on Wheels program return, given that many seniors approached Stose throughout his term to restore the high sought-after service. He stated Stose approached the church about bringing the program back in the spring of 2020.

” I believe we had actually the agreement signed and pretty much everything was all set to go to restart, and after that COVID shut it down,” Matters stated. The very first Meals on Wheels lunch on July 5 didn’t feature numerous attendees, however Matters wants to draw more people in by calling present city leaders who can help get the word out about the program’s return. Matters likewise handed out leaflets to guests so they might let others understand the service is now offered. The seniors who did go to the lunch were alleviated to have an opportunity to ease of some of the isolation they have actually experienced over the last two years. ” They spoke about how they’re truly looking forward to simply being out and seeing their good friends from town,” Matters stated.

Meals on Wheels employees Meredith Kruger and Emily Lockshin dished out Italian wedding event soup and Girl Scout cookies at the lunch. They were passionate about the brand-new opportunity to serve the Ridgefield neighborhood. ” It’s a very fulfilling job,” Lockshin stated. “You get to communicate with a lot of amazing volunteers and congregate restaurants. I can definitely see the impact that our company is making.” Lockshin said the program feeds “seniors who might not otherwise get fed for a day” and delivers meals directly to clients. The Meals on Wheels People lunch at the church will happen on Tuesdays. It ranges from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and lunch is served from noon to 1 p.m