Banquet to be held to 'stop senior hunger'

Comfort Keepers is partnering with Golden Harvest Food Bank to hold a banquet designed to "Stop Senior Hunger in the CSRA."

The dinner is planned for Feb. 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at 702 Fenwick St., Augusta.

Rod Barrie, a representative of Comfort Keepers, explained that the senior services company's corporate emphasis on senior hunger is usually held in September, "but with Spooky to be Hungry going on at that time, we decided on February," he said.

Barrie said the banquet, which is free, is designed to raise awareness regarding why people, particularly seniors, become hungry. (Those attending will be invited to make a donation.)

He said those invited to the banquet are mainly the organizations Comfort Keepers does business with - people who deal with seniors on a regular basis, churches, civic leaders and more.

Barrie said there are three underlying themes:

1) to bring awareness to the topic

2) to remind people that February is the month of love and they should check on seniors on a regular basis

3) to encourage people to check their pantries every February for expiring foods and donate those near expiration to Golden Harvest Food Bank.

He pointed out food donated to Golden Harvest doesn't stay on the shelf long.

Barrie also said the banquet will remind those attending to share the love. "Take time to eat with a senior," he said. "Lots of seniors lose interest in eating because they don't like to eat alone."

The banquet will serve to point out that many seniors face the choice of purchasing life-giving medicine, paying their electric bill or buying the food they need to live.

Information from Comfort Keepers highlights the concerns that can arise at the end of each month when housing and utilities have already used up most of the monthly Social Security check.

The advantage for Golden Harvest is that the network of product donors and an army of volunteers makes it possible to make the most of the money invested in the program and to get food into the hands of the seniors who need it the most.

Barrie said the partnership features a Senior Food Box program where people can donate food much the same way they do for Spooky to be Hungry.