STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Robin Leavitt, Louise Wilson-Noyes and Marcia Hines worked quickly and methodically as they moved around tables lined up in the shape of a horseshoe.

The tables were filled with items like macaroni and cheese, Chef Boyardee meatballs and Pop Tarts.

They picked one of each item off the table, which included can openers, flashlights and cans of split pea soup—and dropped them into hefty white canvas bags. Then they started their walkabout again.

They were on a mission: To fill 50 Winter Emergency Kits for seniors in the Wood River Valley.

The Senior Connection started the effort in 2019, handing out between 10 and 20 winter emergency survival kits to seniors. 5B Engine Works, a grassroots community philanthropic organization, pitched in this year, giving The Senior Connection more than $5,000 to fund the program.

Each kit costs $131.50, including the $45 microwave given each senior to ensure they can heat up the food in the bag.

“We started in 2019 giving emergency kits out to people who depend on every single Meals on Wheels delivery,” said Anna Cabot, the Meals on Wheels coordinator for The Senior Connection. “When a big storm hits, we can’t always get food to them so this ensures that they have at least five days of food and water, as well as emergency items like flashlights.”

The Senior Connection has been covering the costs of the emergency kit program since its beginning, but it has become so large and so successful that the organization was forced to reach out for help to ensure the sustainability of the program, said Brit Werry, The Senior Connection’s associate director.

Into each bag went a quilt made by the Quilting Goodness Philanthropy Group, a wool hat, water, brown Jasmine rice, Pho, V8 juice, packets of oatmeal, Ensure, peanut butter, Sweet Potato Korma, Aussie Bites, granola bars, jerky, five cans of soup, a puzzle and a microwavable beef pot roast meal.

The Meals on Wheels drivers had already delivered microwaves to those who did not have them, and they planned to drop off five frozen meals for each recipient to tuck away in his or her freezer.

Each bag also contained local safety information.

Meals on Wheels provides nutrition and social interaction for those who are homebound, are unable to shop for groceries or have difficulty preparing their own meals, said Werry. During the COVID pandemic The Senior Connection was delivering over 600 meals a week—up from about 125 meals a week before the pandemic.

Thirty-eight volunteer drivers drive more than 600 miles a week delivering meals and providing wellness checks for seniors who live the spectrum from north of Ketchum to Carey.

“When we started this program in 2019, we quickly discovered that our deliveries were sometimes impossible given difficult weather conditions or multi-day blizzards,” said Werry. “This meant that, sometimes out of our control, our members would go hungry for potentially up to several days. This  puts their health and well-being at risk, increasing the likelihood of malnutrition, dehydration and other health-related issues. The emergency kits were created on an as-needed basis in the past, and this is the first real push for a formal program.

Those who received winter emergency kits in the past have been grateful.

“It’s not just the supplies that have made a difference in my life but the warmth and care that come with them,” wrote one recipient.

Nancie Tatum, who founded 5B Engine Works, said that the women who gift their money on behalf of some of the smaller organizations in the community, were excited to have raised more than $5,000 for the kits.

“We are very proud of this achievement and excited to see The Senior Connection team formalize this aspect of supporting senior members of the community,” she added.

SENIOR CONNECTION REMAINS CLOSED

The Senior Connection remains temporarily closed out of precaution given an increased incidence of COVID in the community. The center closed on Dec. 28 as the percentage of St. Luke’s patients testing positive climbed from 8 percent into double digits.There were three patients hospitalized with COVID at the time the center was closed, according to the New York Times tracker.

The state of Idaho is among the states with a high incidence of COVID as the rate of  COVID, influenza and RSV increase across the nation. Several other states have higher rates.