BENTON COUNTY (KFSM)-- The Lowell Senior Activity Center is looking for more volunteers for the food delivery program.
Center director Shannon Stewart said they serve about 1,000 meals every month to the elderly who may not be able to get out of their homes.
Betty Dennis, a member of the program, said the food she gets from the center is her main meal every day.
She said medical conditions prevent her from standing on her feet for too long so she is unable to cook for herself.
Other members of the program said similar things.
Before the program, Lilly Abels was only eating one meal a day and said with a fixed income, she had a hard time buying groceries.
"I couldn’t afford any so I was just getting one meal a day," Abels said. "I’d eat supper and the rest of the day I’d be hungry.”
She said this left her without a lot of energy and most days she would stay in bed to watch television.
Without the food that is delivered to her, Abels said she would have to go back to that one meal a day and her bed.
Others have noticed the need the center has and urges people to give just a few hours of their time.
“They need more volunteers cause they do a lot of it," member Janet Tower said. "They have to cook it, then they have to deliver it and all that. Of course you need people to help them. They can’t do it themselves.”
People like Dennis, Abels and Tower all said that the program is a life saver that keeps them healthy.
“I do get a hot, good meal at noon and that’s important because I may have popcorn for my dinner," Dennis said.
Stewart said the volunteering is not just dropping off food, its spending a minute or two with the members of the program just to see how they are doing.
She hopes that as they receive more volunteers they can expand their program to others like Dennis, Abels, and Tower in the area.
For those interested in more information on how to get involved with the center, Stewart can be reached at (479) 365-2755.