Eagle Mountain seniors to deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in need
As Thanksgiving approaches, members of the Eagle Mountain Senior Citizens Council are once again stepping up to ensure that local families have a holiday meal to enjoy.
Through the City’s annual Thanksgiving Basket program, the Council — together with local grocery stores and community partners — has prepared 20 baskets filled with everything needed for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
“This all started many years ago when a few of us seniors decided to put together three baskets and deliver them ourselves,” said Joye Roberts, who heads the Senior Citizens Council. “It’s grown so much since then. Now we receive donations from grocery stores and monetary support from residents and businesses to help assemble the dinners.”
Each basket contains the essentials of a Thanksgiving meal, such as turkey, rolls, pies, canned vegetables, olives, pickles and other holiday staples. Rather than a general canned food drive, the program focuses on gathering specific items to ensure each family receives a complete and balanced meal.
The Senior Council oversees every part of the process, from organizing donations to assembling and delivering the baskets.
“We like to use our seniors,” Roberts explained. “Each one gets a family’s name and goes around filling the basket. We line them up in order so when we load them on the bus, they’re ready to deliver. It doesn’t take long when we have all these senior volunteers.”
The sense of service that drives the program is deeply meaningful to those who participate.
“I’m very passionate about this,” Roberts said. “This has been a year of struggling for many families. I like to go around and deliver every basket. I want people to know that the seniors in the community are willing to do this. Sometimes folks think seniors are just waiting around for others to do things for them, but we’re very service-oriented.”
For many of Eagle Mountain’s seniors, that spirit of giving is what keeps them engaged and connected. Being service-oriented can keep many seniors in the community involved.
“Sometimes one of these baskets even goes to a senior family in need,” Roberts said. “Our events staff help screen the nominations, and our seniors just love to do it.”
Though nominations for this year’s baskets have closed, the program continues to grow thanks to support from local grocery stores such as Macey’s, Tyson, and others.
The Senior Council hopes to expand the number of baskets in future years as community support allows.
“I just hope that our efforts will be appreciated,” the chair said. “We want people to have a wonderful Thanksgiving.