New kitchen for Meals on Wheels simmers with possibility

The old kitchen was about 500 square feet.

And the new one? It’s more than four times that size, filled with all kinds of equipment that will allow Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels to serve its clients better.

Such as large tilt skillets, kettle cookers, a combination oven and a blast chiller.

That last piece of kitchen hardware is “something really cool,” joked Brian Kinner, food service manager.

Meals on Wheels already makes hot meals for its senior and homebound clients, but thanks in part to the blast chiller, “we’ll be able to eventually start producing our own frozen meals to send out to people (on weekends)” instead of buying those at an added expense, he said.

The program’s new kitchen on Fowler Street in Richland is set to open later this month, with a ribbon cutting Sept. 17.

The 6,100-square-foot building includes 4,300 square feet of kitchen space, plus a café area for dining, cooking classes and demonstrations.

It’s been a long time coming, said Marcee Woffinden, nutrition services director for Senior Life Resources Northwest, which operates the local Meals on Wheels.

With client numbers and demand steadily rising, “we didn’t have adequate facilities, we couldn’t meet the need,” she said. “The seniors deserve this, our community deserves this.”

In 2014, Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels served about 152,000 meals in Benton and Franklin counties through home delivery and its seven dining sites.

That number grew to 157,000 last year, and if trends hold it’ll hit 169,000 this year.

Meals on Wheels used to rent kitchen space at the Pasco Senior Center to prepare most of the meals.

But quarters were cramped, and leaders several years ago began making plans to build a new central kitchen at the Fowler Street site.

Then last year, meal preparation temporarily went to Country Gentleman Catering as a stopgap after the senior center building went up for sale.

Ground was broken last fall on the new kitchen, plus Senior Life Resources offices next door.

The project totaled about $2.2 million, not including equipment. It’s being paid for with a mix of donations, grants and financing.

Don Pratt Construction was the contractor and Devi Tate the architect.

The offices opened in late spring.

Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels provides a critically important service, officials said. It not only offers nutritious food, but also social connection.

“The meals aren’t dropped on the step. They have to be hand-delivered to the person. It provides that social interaction,” said Grant Baynes, Senior Life Resources Northwest executive director.

Nick Castorina, who’s volunteering as construction manager, knows that first hand. He also drives a meal delivery route for Meals on Wheels.

“(The clients) are so happy to see you. They’re waiting at the door for you,” he said. “You do make a difference in their lives.”

The program gets some state and federal funding, but it’s largely powered by donations and in-kind help.

As the kitchen facility nears its opening, the nonprofit still is looking for help paying for some equipment. And it’s offering naming rights to the café.

The program also is always in need of volunteers, officials said.

Baynes, Woffinden and the others stood in the new kitchen the other day, showing off the equipment, the appliances. And talking about the need.

The new kitchen not only means better service now but also will accommodate growth, they said.

The senior population in the U.S. is expected to more than double by 2060, and local trends are about the same.

The program needs to keep up. The new kitchen will help to that end for years to come, officials said.

“It has been a long road to get here,” Woffinden said. “The goal has always been to do better for our community, do better for our seniors. This great team came together and made it happen.”

To get involved, go to seniorliferesources.org or call 509-735-1911.

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "New kitchen for Meals on Wheels simmers with possibility."