Chouteau - People in the Mayes County town of Chouteau are providing home-cooked meals for senior citizens as a solution to a big problem. The town pulled together when state funds to the job were cut back.

Chouteau is a town of two thousand people. And when state funds dried up to feed the elderly, they decided to do it themselves. With donations from local churches and local residents they raised about three thousand dollars.

They now buy the groceries and the hot meals are cooked at a local restaurant daily. They are then taken to the nearby senior citizens center for the noon meal. Lunch today was turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, green beans, a fresh biscuit, and pie.

"Roger, he cooks up a meal good enough for a thrashing crew, it's really good," says Ted Walsh.

"Roger" is Roger Lawrence. He says everyone in town has pitched in to make the hot lunches a success.

"It just shows you the kind of town that we grew up in and the kind of town we're from, and the kind of merchants we have," he says. "It's just been an outpouring of love for our senior citizens. They are our national treasure."

Mayor Jerry Ford says another reason this works is because it is a small town where everyone knows everyone.

"We're a pretty close-knit community to start with," he says. "And our people have pulled together to get it done."

They serve between 25 and 40 meals daily. Mayor Ford urges other towns to do the same -- work together, find a solution to the problem, and never give up.

It's estimated that the cost of feeding the elderly every day is about 120 dollars. They make up for that with donations and volunteers do most of the work.

The organizers say they get discounts from wholesalers when they buy the food. They say they'll feed meals five days a week and will do so until the state funds return. One person told us we'll do this if we have to until the cows come home.

 Email To Friend