Seniors get nice meal delivered to their doorsteps

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This article was published 08/04/2020 (2073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Seniors for Seniors Co-op and a team of Realtors are delivering meals and a friendly face to seniors who can’t leave their homes because of COVID-19.

“It is really taking off,” said Seniors for Seniors executive director Margaret Schonewille, whose organization is working with a group of Royal LePage Martin-Liberty Realtors.

“We were concerned about our seniors (in the co-op), but not just our seniors but the seniors here in Brandon,” she said.

Before the novel coronavirus pandemic broke out, the co-op offered a program on Thursdays called Out to Lunch, in which between 80 and 90 seniors would get together at lunchtime for a meal, she said. As well, Seniors for Seniors also serves lunches at different seniors apartments in Brandon.

“We thought that it would be great to stay connected with our seniors, but also others, and so we thought ‘Well, they can’t come to us, so we will go to them.’”

Those who want to purchase meals, which cost $10 each and include a roll/bread, salad, main course and dessert, can call Mondays and place an order specifying how many meals they would like to receive for the week.

The meals are then prepared by the co-op’s cook and helper and, with the help of Shonewille and her receptionist, are placed in new, plastic bags and sent out on Fridays.

This week, 108 meals have been ordered. Because Easter falls on Friday
this week, they will be delivered on Thursday.

The co-op staff will also phone seniors through the week to see how they are doing, Shonewille said, adding they will also take puzzles or books to someone who is shut in.

The Realtors take precautions to not get too close to the seniors when the meals are delivered, she said. Following the seniors’ instructions, they will knock or ring a doorbell and set the food down for the senior to pick up and leave a cheque in an envelope for them to take.

“We really try to separate the people from the visitors,” she said.

Royal LePage Realtor Sue Hargreaves said this all came about when she and her daughter Rana Wilkinson — who is also a Realtor — gave a presentation on real estate to a group at Seniors for Seniors.

“They needed someone to deliver meals to their members who couldn’t get out,” Hargreaves said, and was approached by Shonewille to help with that.

She and her daughter, as well as fellow Realtors Kevin Gregory, Marlee Murray and Dana Edmondson, have been going around town for the past three weeks delivering the meals.

“We are very cautious. We use our hand sanitizer, drop (the meals) on the doorstep, stay our distance and talk to them from six feet away,” Hargreaves said.

“They’re pretty happy to see the fresh food and a live face.”

Hargreaves said the Royal LePage motto is ‘Helping you is what I do.’ 

“I really feel that this is a part of what Royal LePage is all about,” she said.

“I’m just doing my part as (is) everybody else.”

“Our seniors are so important to us,” Schonewille said. “They really built Brandon, and as they get older, they can’t do what they did before. Without them, we wouldn’t be what we are today. So it’s our time to really pay them back and support them during this time.”

Those who would like to order meals, or for any other services, can call Brandon Seniors for Seniors Co-op at 204-571-2050. 

» brobertson@brandonsun.com