Steeleville Nutrition Center needs volunteer meal drivers
The Steeleville Area Nutrition Center is continuing to serve lunches to seniors during the coronavirus pandemic, but they could use some help.
Now that the center is closed to foot traffic, meals are either being given to clients in their cars, or delivered by volunteers to homes.
"Our delivery volunteers are largely 80 years old or older and those folks will soon stay home," said Site Director Rebecca Kiehna, as seniors are the age group most vulnerable to the pandemic.
Kiehna said the village of Steeleville runs the Nutrition Site.
"We've decided to stay open as long as the state will allow," she said. "The folks we serve are the most fragile and at risk to get this illness."
If you have time to volunteer, call Kiehna at (618) 965-3134, Ext. 5 or email r.kiehna@steeleville.org.
Volunteers pick up their meals to deliver at 10:45 a.m. and deliver them in Steeleville and Percy until about 11:30 a.m.
Kiehna said she's glad to feed her volunteers lunch.
As well, her staff takes precautions. They take the temperature of each cook and volunteer before they start work each day. The delivery drivers wear masks and gloves and never step into a person's home - only hand the meal over at the doorstep.
At the Nutrition Center, "we are operating like a drive through," Kiehna said. "I wear a mask and gloves when handling the meals, and I hand the meals to them as they drive around the building. They do not exit their cars."
Getting a positive case of COVID-19 among one of the inside workers would throw the whole operation into jeopardy, and so far that hasn't happened.
"I have purchased more frozen meals to deliver in case we have a positive case and need to close for an amount of time," Kiehna said.
Meanwhile, Kiehna has tried to keep the meals as normal as possible but she's having trouble getting the usual supplies.
"This is the first week I cannot get a salad product so I will sub out green beans or a different vegetable," she said. "I had trouble getting bananas so today's dessert was chocolate éclair instead of banana pudding.
"Also, bread is hard to come by so instead of a chicken sandwich on Monday we had chicken on a plate.
"We're figuring it out and making changes on the fly - just like everyone else."
<b>Steeleville menu, April 1-8</b>
Wednesday, April 1: Italian beef sandwich, french fries, Carolina beans, applesauce.
Thursday, April 2: Rotini lasagna, Romaine salad, garlic bread, cranberry sauce.
Friday, April 3: Catfish, macaroni & tomatoes, sweet potato fries, mixed fruit, brownie.
Monday, April 6: Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, pears, angel food cake with chocolate pudding.
Tuesday, April 7: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, Carolina beans, mandarin oranges.
Wednesday, April 8: Breaded chicken sandwich, baked beans, coleslaw, peaches.