By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
InterServ of St. Joseph has been helping feed older adults in the region for more than 50 years.
One program offered is communal meals at Wesley Towers in downtown St. Joseph and also at the InterServ location at 5400 King Hill Avenue.
Executive Director Bridget Supple says those meals are offered to residents 60 and older. . .
"They are offered free of charge to people who cannot pay, of course those who can pay are more than welcome, and it's a free will offering there's no defined charge for the meal," Supple explains to KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "But every dollar that we receive from people who can pay, makes it so that we can feed people who cannot pay."
Supple says 100 meals a day are served at the south end location and another 50 to 60 at Wesley Towers.
InterServ has been feeding older adults since 1970. One of the most popular programs is Meals on Wheels.
Supple says InterServ added the program almost seven years ago. . .
"It allows us to deliver their meals several times a week, do a wellness check on them to make sure they're doing ok, and then just to connect with them so that they have somebody that they can talk to," Supple says. "A lot of times we may be the only people they see all week long, so it's kind of a nice way to connect with people when they're in their homes."
Supple says the goal of the program is to allow seniors to live independently as long as they want to. Supple says currently InterServ delivers just over 200 meals a week, but.
"There are however 113 people on the waiting list who we cannot accommodate either because of funding for the meals or because we don't have enough people to deliver meals which is where the volunteers come in," Supple points out.
InterServ is in need of volunteers to help with several programs, donations are also accepted to help sustain the programs.
