A lot of senior citizens depend on senior centers for a meal. After heavy snowfall on Tuesday night some senior centers had to close or modify their service due to the road conditions.
WEST FRANKFORT (WSIL)-- Many senior citizens depend on senior centers for meals. After heavy snowfall on Tuesday night, some senior centers had to close or modify their service due to the road conditions.Â
The Wit and Wisdom Senior Center in West Frankfort is running normal service for seniors on Thursday. However, some home meal delivery routes have been rescheduled for Friday due to road conditions.
Georgia Moore is from West Frankfort. She was one of a few seniors able to make it to the building for lunch.
“If anybody wanted to come and they were afraid to walk in the snow and everything, they said to call ahead, and they would come out and get them and assist them in,� Moore said.
Moore and her friends are enjoying their lunch. She says the center usually has more people during this time.
“Well, with the weather and the streets and the ice and snow. People are afraid to get out, afraid that they might fall,� Moore said.
She says on days like this she feels for people who can't make it out or are homebound.
The senior center's meal delivery coordinator, Lily Jenkins, says they pack extra food for the senior citizens in case they cannot make it to their homes.
“We'll take some extra frozen meals. They get fresh fruit with their delivery. They get dessert, and one week they'll get a loaf of bread, and the next they'll get a half gallon of milk. Those rotate. And we also are able to provide free dog and cat food through a grant. So we take that out with us as well,� Jenkins said.
Jenkins says they have close to 300 clients they deliver meals to.
“So we are sending 1500 meals out to seniors every week,� Jenkins said.
She says they only sent out 2 drivers on Thursday morning.
“Normally we do Christopher, Zeigler, Royalton, and Thompsonville today. We didn't do Christopher today. We'll get Christopher tomorrow,� Jenkins said.
While some senior centers in the different counties are running at full operations, others announced they would be closed on Thursday.
“We look at school closures and rural road conditions. We figure if the buses aren't running, it's not safe for our drivers to be out running either. So that heavily influences our decision,� Jenkins said.
Jenkins says no matter the conditions, they want to make sure their seniors are taken care of.
“Their safety is our utmost concern, and just because we're open, do not feel pressure to come in,� Jenkins says. “And if you are home and you can't get out and you need something, always give us a call. I mean I've taken out blankets if I have to, we can take out a couple of meals.�
Officials with Wit and Wisdom Senior Center say they plan to have service as normal on Friday, including running their regular schedule for meal deliveries.
