Coming together:
Oasis Senior Center and a band of farmers each contribute to the
well-being of others
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[March 26, 2020]
With no school and no work, families are spending more time at home
right now. This means there is an increased need for food in almost
every household. While public schools are providing some relief,
families are still in need.
Add to that, grocers are stressed to keep their shelves stocked and
you have the perfect storm for some families. No food, little money,
and less food available for purchase if money is available.
On Tuesday, a small band of farmers who are an unofficial coffee
club at Top Flight (Krueger) Elevator, rural Lincoln, came up with
an idea. The first to think of it was Jeff Elsas. He shot out a
group text to his coffee buddies suggesting they gather up some food
to donate to the Lincoln Logan Food Pantry.
All his buddies responded and on Wednesday morning, the guys brought
their donations into the elevator. As the contributions were set out
on the dock at the elevator, it became a pretty impressive sized
donation for just a one day drive at the spur of the moment.
Those who pitched in with donations included Jim Brown, Todd
Stenberg, Rod Alberts, Jack Knollenberg, Steve Hasely, Kevin Smith,
Scott Noltensmeier, Jeff Elsas and Bill Sahs.
The food was loaded up on Wednesday morning and taken to the food
pantry to assist in restocking the pantry shelves for customers.
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In the meantime on the other side of town, the Oasis Senior Center,
which is currently closed due to the coronavirus, hosted a
drive-thru pantry.
Oasis Director Nancy Cunningham said that the number of folks who
turned out to receive a sack of groceries was outstanding and
overwhelming. Because they quickly saw that they weren't going to
have enough to go around, they limited the recipients to those age
65 and older.
Cars were lined up in the parking lot at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday
morning, awaiting the distribution that started at 11 a.m.
Recipients drove up to the patio on the dining room side of the
building and a volunteer wearing a protective mask passed a bag of
groceries to the driver.
Thanks so much to these two groups who decided to take action for
their community. It is a great thing when we think of others before
ourselves. Now is a time to show compassion for others, and pitch in
wherever possible.
[Nila Smith with photos and information from Laura Tomlinson, Todd
Steinberg and Karen Hargis] |