Along with food came unbridled laughter as volunteers-turned-friends in Royalton wound down the clock to a noontime meal on Tuesday for seniors.
The lunch preppers, themselves senior citizens in their 70s and 80s, hustled and bustled in the warm kitchen of Royalton Academy—some, like chef Tony Perkins, since 5:30 a.m.
One wrested a deep bowl of hot potatoes from an old Hobart floor-standing mixer. Another sliced servings from four large sheet pans of pineapple cake baked fresh that morning. Others washed pots and pans and pitched in wherever directed by Perkins, a military veteran and retired court reporter of 38 years who also spent 15 years as a professional cake decorator.
They recalled tidbits of conversations overheard at lunches past: “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you but I didn’t remember your name,” brought howls of laughter. And volunteer Larry Parmenter of South Royalton rolled with quips: When another volunteer yelped “Ouch!” in the kitchen, Parmenter offered a helpful “I didn’t feel a thing.”
Linda Fadden of South Royalton, a former nurse who worked at Dartmouth Hitchcock for 36 years, said she “failed at retirement a couple times,” a sentiment echoed by Perkins and other hardworking members of the brigade.
An older woman in an apron stands behind trays of baked food in a cafeteria setting, preparing or serving portions. Tables and chairs are visible in the background.
The senior center gig is a good time all around, said 89-year-old Marge Turner of East Bethel. “I love being down here. I love just getting (out). I can’t stay at home—it would drive me crazy,” said Turner as she washed dishes.
The kitchen crew was making food not just for the weekly congregate lunch — 25 pounds of ground beef for Tuesday’s stroganoff — but also to support the South Royalton Senior Center’s other programs that help to ensure food access for older community members in the White River Valley towns of Royalton, Bethel, Sharon and Strafford. Programs include home-delivery Meals on Wheels and a grab-and-go curbside service, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With some seniors receiving meals for all seven days of the week, having variety available in the center’s freezer is key, said South Royalton Senior Center executive director Sue Pirie, who manages the business side of things. Pirie also leads the centers in Chelsea and Strafford.
“So when we do a meal, we do 60 to 90 extra and freeze them, and they’re all labeled,” said Pirie during a tour of the packaged meals side of the operation, as she pointed out a cooler being prepped for a recipient. “And then that way, like, this person is getting six meals, so they’ll have different meals every day.”
In addition to the meal programs, Pirie plans trips for seniors and oversees other services and partnerships, such as with Central Vermont Council on Aging.
Her centers’ joint October newsletter includes a robust and filling-sounding menu — roast pork, homemade baked beans, hearty lasagna — and is likewise full of opportunities. An upcoming trip includes a Christmas show in Portsmouth, N.H., and lunch in Kittery, Maine. CVCOA offerings include “Creative Care Kits,” which are projects that can be picked up and completed at home.
October also means it’s annual-meeting time for the centers, and Pirie on Tuesday was reviewing numbers for the previous fiscal year.
“Last year, which would have been as of September 30, we served 12,789 in Royalton and in Strafford we did 2,620,” she said. “It’s all by donation, so we do a lot of fundraising. We’re looking for grants, that type of stuff. It’s all by donation — we don’t charge.”
All in, a pre-packaged meal by the center costs $12 to produce. That figure factors in things like the packaging, which is compostable, and payroll.
Pirie, who lives in Chelsea and has been doing similar work for 25 years, expressed gratitude to the donors, including the center’s dozen board members and local farmers who donate squash.
While the senior centers receive some state and federal funding, that support feels tenuous.
“We can’t depend on that. You know how things are changing, which is not good,” she said. “They’re worried about their insurance. They’re worried about a lot. And the way I feel, seniors should be the last ones to be cut. …They’ve worked all their lives. We should be helping them, just like the veterans. We should be helping them. We shouldn’t be penalizing.”
In the dining room Tuesday in Royalton, while lunch was served at noon, guests started rolling in before 10:30 a.m. They took coffee or tea and caught up with neighbors they perhaps hadn’t seen since the Tuesday before.
There’s nothing quite like it where she lives in Florida, said seasonal Bethel resident Martine Weaver. “I don’t know of any senior center in Florida,” she said. “The whole thing, it’s all different. We entertain in our homes.”
Weaver agreed with her tablemates on one attractive aspect of the meal: food cooked by someone else tastes better. The social opportunity afforded by the lunch is also a big draw. “You have good conversation,” said Marilyn Pratt of Bethel. “And I never leave hungry, and I’m a big eater.”
While the center’s dining room was largely full come lunchtime, Perkins, who works about 15 hours a week and also cooks for the Chelsea center, wants readers to know there is still plenty of room at the table, and he’s eager for everyone to try his food.
“Everyone seems to like everything I’ve cooked so far,” said the chef, who estimates he has somewhere between 600 and 700 cookbooks and is known for his whoopie pies and fancy chocolates. “But I think one of the favorite meals is the roast pork dinner.”
Barbara Hart, 93, of Bethel offered her compliments to the chef. “The food is great,” she said. “They haven’t served anything I haven’t liked.”
Senior meals available in the White River Valley are offered by the Chelsea Senior Center, Greater Randolph Senior Center, Orange East Senior Center, Quin-Town Senior Center in Hancock, Vt., South Royalton Senior Center and South Strafford Senior Center.