Volunteers at the Fairhaven Senior Center don their gloves on Sunday, 4/12/20, to help package up the bags with the Easter dinner that will be delivered to Fairhaven seniors, because the usual sit-down meal had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Photo by Beth David.
By Beth David, Editor
It was supposed to be a big secret, the name of the anonymous donor who bought 100 Easter dinners from Mac’s Soda Bar to be delivered to seniors by the Council On Aging in Fairhaven on Sunday. But, then, COA Director Anne Silvia told the Selectboard that she got permission to spill the beans: Joe and Nancy Tremblay are the culprits.
It was the first time that Mac’s offered Easter dinner. They regularly offer Thanksgiving and Christmas, so they decided to add Easter this year. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its accompanying forced closures of restaurant dining areas, is making it increasingly difficult for restaurants to keep operating. It’s take-out only, and that is simply not enough.
So, the 100 meals was a great help, said Jevon Malcom, who owns Mac’s.
He cooked up and packaged 300 Easter meals.
“We’re still down 90 percent across the board,” said Mr. Malcom, but the Easter meals were a great help, and he is hoping he can keep it going.
He said he has owned the business for more than 30 years, so he can weather a little bit of
Fairhaven Council on Aging Director Anne Silvia packages up an Easter dinner on Sunday, 4/12/20, to be delivered to a Fairhaven senior, because the usual sit-down meal had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Photo by Beth David.
the storm if it does not go on too long, If it had happened when he first started out, though…
Meanwhile, he would not give up the name of the donor, only saying he knew who it was, that he was a good friend, and also friends with Ms. Silvia, who usually cooks all the Easter meals herself at the Senior Center.
“I’m too proud to take money,” said Mr. Malcom. “So he found a way to help both people.”
It turned out, though, that Ms. Silvia got some additional requests after the deadline, and could not refuse them. So she made 20 meals on Sunday morning anyway.
But, that was a piece of cake compared to the usual job of 100+.
Oh, did we mention there was cake, too.
The meal had ham and rolls, carrots, ginger ale, and dessert.
Usually, she holds a sit-down dinner at the center. But because of the pandemic, she decided to deliver instead of cancelling.
Volunteer driver Cameron Durant heads out the door of the Fairhaven Senior Center carrying bags containing Easter Dinners on Sunday, 4/12/20, for delivery to Fairhaven seniors, because the usual sit-down meal had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Photo by Beth David.
The odd thing is that Ms. Silvia did not have as many orders as she had expected. So she put a call out on Facebook, and the number jumped over the limit. They had 120 meals ordered.
People from all over the country called to get meals for their Fairhaven relatives.
She got her volunteers together, they bagged the meals, loaded up their cars and were off. Ms. Silvia instructed them to ring the door bell or knock, and leave the bag in front of the door, then back up and wait to be sure that the bag got picked up. No contact with the people in the house. No food should be left unattended, either. If no one came to the door, the volunteers called Ms. Silvia, who then called the person receiving the meal.
She reminded them that the seniors often do not hear so well.
“They’ve all been waiting for this,” she said, so it would be “huge for them.” She knew they would not wan to miss out just because they missed the knock on the door.
The Council on Aging also delivers Meals on Wheels to Fairhaven seniors. Call the senior center at 508-979-4029. There are some eligibility requirements.
A volunteer double checks the contents of a bag containing an Easter Dinner at the Fairhaven Senior Center on Sunday, 4/12/20, for delivery to Fairhaven seniors, because the usual sit-down meal had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Photo by Beth David.
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