Meals on Wheels Finds permanent home at Sharbot Lake Seniors Centre

Jan 19, 2012

Photo: Meals on Wheels cook Pat Rhyno (right) with volunteer driver Erlene Lee at the Sharbot Lake Seniors Centre pack up meals to be delivered to clients

When the Sharbot Lake Seniors Centre opened in January 2009, the long-term vision of the Northern Frontenac Community Services staff who operate the center had always been to run a Meals on Wheels program from its kitchen. After the necessary renovations to the home were made in order to operate a kitchen that meets public health requirements, that vision became a reality on January 12 when NFCS staff member and long-time cook and caterer Pat Rhyno of Snow Road served up 30 noon time meals to local area clients. The meals were delivered by a crew of NFCS' volunteer drivers.

While NFCS has run a Meals on Wheels program for close to 15 years now, and while the North of 7 restaurant continues to serve its clients in the north, clients in the Central Frontenac area are now enjoying the benefits of the new on site program, which is run out of the center on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week.

I visited the center on January 17 just as Pat was dishing out a meal of roasted ham, mashed potatoes, corn, cream of broccoli soup and chocolate cake for dessert. Pat is passionate about cooking and learned the art of baking from her grandfather. She also graduated from the Liaison Cooking College in Kingston where she studied basic and advanced cooking. She honed her skills at her own Cooks Camp and Cafe located in Snow Road, which she operated for two years.

Her meals for clients always include a soup made from homemade stock, a home-cooked entree that includes meat, vegetables, and a home baked dessert, plus a bun and crackers. Some of her dishes for this month include home made chicken fingers, salmon, roast beef and pork and home made soups like minestrone, vegetable, chicken noodle, cream of tomato, and leek and potato. Pat loves baking and she prepares all of her desserts at her cafe. On the menu this month are her pound cake, apple and cherry pie brownies and blueberry coffee cake. Part of the job that Pat likes best is having the freedom to design and prepare the menus herself. She also boasts that nothing goes to waste. All her leftovers are served at the Adult Day Program that runs at the centre.

Catherine Tysick, who works as the community support manager at NFCS, said that the benefit of running the program from the centre in Sharbot Lake is two-fold. “Clients can enjoy a home-delivered hot, home cooked meal that is extremely high in nutritional content and low in sodium and also get the added benefit of having a home visit by the volunteer drivers who make the deliveries.”

The cost of the meals is subsidized and clients pay $6.50 per meal. Clients can receive a bi-monthly menu so that they can order meals to their liking and do not have to commit to receiving a meal on every day that they are available.

Pat has been getting great feedback and said she is very content doing the job. “It's very satisfying when you cook and people are happy with what you are serving them. And the organization (NFCS) is great too in that they allow me buy a lot of fresh ingredients.” Anyone interested in the program can call NFCS at 613-279-3151