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Low cost meals provide nutrition and company to seniors four days a week
• At the Ceres Community Center
Ceres nutrition site for senior
Site manager Diane St. Clair serves up a lunch to south Modesto resident Alfonso Hernandez here last year. - photo by JEFF BENZIGER/ Courier file photo

Seniors 60 and older in Ceres and surrounding area are invited to have lunch at the “Community Center Café” Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Judging by the low attendance numbers, many seniors may not be aware of the program offered for the past year at the Ceres Community Center, 2701 Fourth Street.

Meals are prepared by the United Samaritans Foundation in Turlock and transported to Ceres. The menu varies from day to day but includes such items like Italian Sausage and salad, chef salads, turkey burgers, turkey sandwiches, meatloaf and mashed potatoes and soups.

There is no cost for the meal but a box for the suggested donation of $3 per person is available. No eligible participant will be denied due to inability to pay. Guests under 60 are welcome but must pay the full cost of the meal which is currently $6.

“The people really like it,” said site manager Diane St. Clair. “It’s a total balance meal and the menus are prepared by registered dieticians.”

She also keeps track of patrons’ birthdays and she bakes something special for that person as a celebration.

Reservations at the Senior Information line at (209) 480-4508 are encouraged at least the day before to ensure an adequate number of meals will be available. 

The lunch center opens at 11 a.m. for coffee and social time with lunch served from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Seniors are also welcome to play cards and watch TV in the Senior Lounge and participate in enrichment programs.

Javier Avila learned about the program after seeing a flyer at Whitmore Oaks, a senior housing facility on Blaker Road. He has found the experience good to get out of the house and socialize with others.

St. Clair would like to see at least 20 to 25 seniors and guests regularly to ensure the program stays. Attendance this week has hovered around 10-12. She fears the program will be scaled back to three days a week if the numbers continue to drop.

“That’s what I’m concerned about,” said St. Clair. “I really don’t want to see that happen because the people who are coming now are steady and they expect it.”

“I like talking to other people,” said Alfonso “Al” Hernandez, a Vietnam veteran who is a regular at the luncheons. “Me being here it’s not just about the food, it’s getting to meet people because I lived by myself.”

“We’d love to see more seniors attending,” said Chavez.

Similar programs are offered at the Hughson Community Center, 2307 Fourth Street, Hughson; and Mancini Hall, 718 Tuolumne Road, south Modesto.