ELGIN – Above ground, The Hemmens Cultural Center delivers its main commodity: entertainment. Hundreds of performers take the stage every year to amuse, excite, and awe guests.
But deeper down, well below the stage and seats, a much more basic need is being provided. On the side of the building, a sweet smell becomes an invisible trail leading from a service door down a concrete ramp and into a spacious basement.
Golden Diners volunteers help package meals to be sent to distribution centers. According to Salvation Army Maj. Ken Nicolai, the program serves between 700-800 meals every day. (Photo by Mason Souza/Sun Day)
Here volunteers are working to prepare and package a chicken-and-broccoli casserole along with rice. That pleasant fruity scent? Cranberry cobbler. And there’s enough of it to feed 700.
All this work is being done, as it is five days a week, for the Golden Diners, a service of the Salvation Army that provides lunches to homebound and low-income seniors.
Lead cook Soni Stevens was behind the meal for the day, working alongside her central kitchen manager. The chefs begin their shifts at 5:30 a.m. and finish around 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Volunteers help package the food into trays and bag meals for delivery.
Stevens worked in her parents’ restaurant growing up and adopted their efforts to feed veterans and the needy when she started her own bakery in Ohio.
“What I wanted to do was just volunteer and help, and then the next day, they came to me and asked me if I would cook and bake. And I said, ‘Absolutely, because that’s my love and joy,'” Stevens said.
Today, the two chefs handle most of the kitchen work, but up until this year, they were not needed. Since the Golden Diner program’s inception in 1974, its food was provided by catering companies. For the first time last year, seniors had to be put on a waiting list for food due to rising demand.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve noticed the number really going up, and you know it’s the economy that’s making it worse,” Stevens said. “But we make sure that everybody that needs to eat, they eat, because that’s very important.”
The program was able to find a new home this October in the basement of the Hemmens and now cooks and packages meals at a lower cost. The city-owned center features an industrial kitchen, allowing the program to serve between 700-800 meals per day.
Meals are delivered to 18 distribution centers across Kane and McHenry Counties and from there are delivered to each senior on the list. Seniors aged 60 and over who have been approved for the program by a case worker based on their income level and ability to obtain their own food are eligible for the program. Golden Diners delivers to any senior in the two counties who qualifies, no matter how far they live from a distribution center.
Seniors are also served lunch at community dining sites, such as Judson University in Elgin. These meals are served to any senior over 60, regardless of income. These centers have also seen a spike in attendance given the economic downturn.
“It used to be [that at] our community dining sites, hardly anybody ate there,” Salvation Army Maj. Ken Nicolai said. “As a matter of fact, a few years back they were thinking about cancelling that program because they weren’t well attended. Today, over at Judson, we get 40 or 50 seniors that eat there.”
The meals change every day and are repeated on six-week cycles. There are two total cycles: one for fall and winter, and one for spring and summer. All meals are approved by a dietitian. Stevens said Golden Diners provides a balanced meal with emphasis on starches, and they always serve fruits and milk.
Clients are asked to make a voluntary donation, up to $3.50 per meal, but the donation is completely up to them. It is contributions from clients and outside donors, as well as government funding, that keep the program running.
Golden Diners is also making sure seniors are fed and accompanied during what is perhaps the biggest day for food on most calendars. Paul’s Family Restaurant in Elgin provides a
turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing Thanksgiving meal that is delivered by Golden Diners volunteers to seniors without a dinner to share.
“There are about 80 seniors that need meals [on] Thanksgiving Day,” Nicolai said. “They have nobody; they’re home alone. So what we ask is they go to the restaurant, pick up the meal, and then take it to the seniors’ home and spend at least 15 minutes with them because no one should be alone on Thanksgiving Day.”
Nicolai said Golden Diners needs volunteer help from anyone interested in several areas. The biggest need is for help packaging food primarily on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.
Golden Diners is also seeking help from drivers to deliver meals to seniors from distribution centers and help serving meals at community dining sites.
“If you just want to do something to make sure that seniors are taken care of with their nutrition needs, this is very rewarding,” Nicolai said.
To learn more: Call the Salvation Army at 630-232-6676 or visit www.salarmychicago.org/services/goldendiners.htm
