Local groups give help for holidays

While most folks will spend Thanksgiving stuffed with food and relaxing with family, 35 Bloomington residents will scurry around the Community Kitchen, preparing some 400 fresh meals for Bloomington citizens in need of a warm dinner.\nBecause many employees at the Community Kitchen, 917 S. Rogers Street, and the Area 10 Agency on Aging request the holiday off, the organizations combine their efforts to ensure that citizens who need a meal receive one.\n"I find it unfortunate that so many people are in need of our services, but I'm very grateful for the level of community generosity that makes it possible for us to offer this service," said Julio Alonso, the kitchen's executive director. "You see a lot of generous people in this community coming forward and helping out."\nThe Community Kitchen will make the meals Thanksgiving Day beginning at 8:30 a.m., when the first batch of volunteers arrives for meal preparation. The kitchen will serve the dinners from 3 to 6 p.m. while the Area 10 Agency delivers them to homebound citizens living in the Bloomington area. \nThe dinner will consist of traditional Thanksgiving fare: turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, salad, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, all donated by community members. \nJessie Bowman, the kitchen's office manager and volunteer coordinator, said the kitchen still needs cream of mushroom soup, green beans and turkeys.\nThe Community Kitchen, which regularly offers free, hot meals Monday through Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m., uses funds from its minimal food budget to purchase necessary goods that aren't donated. The center can always use canned fruits and vegetables, egg noodles and ground beef donations, Bowman said. \nThe Area 10 Agency on Aging serves lunches to senior citizens in Monroe and Owen counties Monday through Friday at local congregate sites, such as retirement or assisted living communities. The agency also delivers meals to citizens who cannot get to the sites, said Caroline Clay, Area 10's deputy director.\nArea 10 distributed 150 meals last Thanksgiving Day and predicts it will deliver around 200 this year, said Bruce Parrott, the agency's nutrition director. Although Parrott assigns just five meals for each driver to deliver, trips can last a while, he said.\n"The meals can take from one to two hours, depending on whether they want to chat," Parrott said. "It depends on conversation." \nAlthough both the Community Kitchen and the Area 10 Agency on Aging have filled their volunteer positions for Thanksgiving Day, they said they can use volunteers any other time. Many IU students volunteer during non-holiday weeks and comprise a good portion of the kitchen and agency's volunteer corps, Bowman said. \n"IU students make up about 50 percent of our volunteer pool," she said. "They help our volunteer pool become so diverse. They keep it energetic around here." \nHomebound citizens can request a delivery dinner for Thanksgiving Day by calling the Area 10 Agency on Aging at 876-3383. To volunteer at Area 10, contact their RSVP office 876-9922.