I had the opportunity to visit the West End Senior Center aka Buhl Senior Center in Buhl, Idaho…read morerecently. I am not a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. Information from their website: The West End Senior Center provides essential services and resources for senior citizens 60 and older and their families. We offer a variety of activities at the center: Occasional Trips Meal Programs Silver Sneakers Exercise Thrift Store Educational and Informative Programs and much more. Located in the heart of Buhl, our historic senior center supports our mission of "Sustaining and improving the quality of life and independence of our aging seniors." The West End Senior Center provides hot, nutritious lunches Sunday thru Thursday. Serving time is 12:00 pm during the week and at 1:00 pm on Sundays. The suggested donation of $5.00 is for adults over 60 years of age. A person under 60 may dine as well, for the mandatory price of $7.00. Special pricing is available for persons under 10 years of age. I enjoyed lunch here. They have a salad bar - but not the traditional kind where you put your salad together. They have pre-made salads. This particular day they had broccoli salad and a grape/apple/marshmallow salad (which was quite delicious). Soup is out before the meal and it's in a large Crock Pot. Today's soup was a creamy, delicious potato soup. Bread, butter and crackers are near the salad bar too. And the desserts are out for you to take before the meal as well. On this day it was a pumpkin bread pudding that I didn't particularly care for - I'm not big on pumpkin. It had raisins in it and whipped cream on top - if it weren't pumpkin, I think I would have liked it. The main meal was baked chicken (with gravy if you like it), cooked carrots, and rice with peas and carrots (similar to a Chinese fried rice). Drinks are water, coffee, and iced tea. Everybody knows everybody here. The facility is clean, with clean bathrooms, good food, and hospitable people. As with all senior centers I have been to for lunch, they do a blessing before the meal and the Pledge of Allegiance. A good portion of the center is a thrift store; the walls are decorated with a lot of local history. It's a beautiful drive from I-84 in to Buhl - I didn't know this, and was pleasantly surprised. If you happen to be in Buhl around lunch time Sunday-Thursday, pop in for a good, cheap meal with some nice folks.

From the owner: West End Senior Center located in Buhl Idaho, is a community focused facility dedicated to serving…read morethe needs of senior citizens. We offer a supportive network for seniors providing essential services and fostering a sense of community.

- Albion Senior Center aka Lorna Reeder Senior Center -…read more I had the opportunity to visit the Lorna Reeder Senior Center in Albion, Idaho last week. I am not a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. I'd never been to Albion before. It's a ways out there - past Twin Falls and Burley. When you are on I-84 heading east, you look to the right and you see fields and hills and mountains. Well there are adorable little towns out in the middle of those mountains. The senior center was renamed the Lorna Reeder Senior Center in 2010. This is a clip from her obituary .... "At the time of her passing, she was site manager for the Albion Senior Center. Her dedication and hard work led to the construction of the new center in Albion which honored her by being named The Lorna Reeder Senior Citizen Center. She enjoyed living in Albion and made many wonderful friends." There is a photo of her when you walk in the door. You sort of know walking in that these are going to be good, caring, friendly people. And they were. They were a lovely, welcoming folk. They are only open for lunch one day a week (Wednesday) and lunch is $5 for seniors, and $6 for people under 60. This particular week was the Thanksgiving lunch as they were going to be closed the following Wednesday for Thanksgiving. The tables were all decorated with Thanksgiving tablecloths and decorations and candles and dishes of candy corn. There were 2 ladies hard at work in the kitchen who had been cooking since the day before. And their hard work was evident. They made so much food - a variety of things, and a lot of it! Turkey, ham, green bean casserole, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, fruit salad with bananas and fruit cocktail and apples and whipped cream, a "pumpkin chiffon" cake with a nutty crust, and a store-bought blueberry cheesecake. There were also veggie trays, cranberry slices, deviled eggs, etc. that were brought in by guests. Drinks were water, milk, coffee and a tropical fruit juice. Lunch was delicious! Your classic, perfect Thanksgiving meal. As with all senior centers I have been to for lunch, they do a blessing before the meal and the Pledge of Allegiance, and the chairman of the board made some announcements. There was Christmas music playing from a vintage stereo, there is a piano in the corner, and clean bathrooms in the back. I'm not sure if I'll ever get back to Albion, but I will remember this little town and a delicious meal with very kind people.

I had the opportunity to visit the Wendell Senior Center in Wendell, Idaho recently. I am not a…read moresenior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. Information from their website: The Wendell Senior Center is here to help meet the needs of the community. The facility is available for special needs such as rentals for funerals, luncheons, family gatherings, etc. We also provide service designed to meet the needs of senior citizens. Lunches on Mondays and Fridays are made to meet dietary needs for seniors - which means they are balanced meals and are well prepared, but participation is not limited to only senior citizens. Anyone is invited to join the group for the lunch meals. Non-seniors are asked, however, to pay $6 for their meal. Senior citizens are asked to make a voluntary donation of any amount with $4 as a suggestion. I enjoyed a Thanksgiving lunch here complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables, roll, butter, pumpkin pie (from Costco) and grape juice. I was pulled away at the beginning of lunch and was not able to enjoy my meal. A nice lady who worked there boxed up my lunch in a plastic Ziploc container for me to enjoy later which was really nice. Everybody knows everybody here. The facility is clean, with clean bathrooms, good food, and hospitable people. As with all senior centers I have been to for lunch, they do a blessing before the meal and the Pledge of Allegiance. If you happen to be in Wendell around lunch time on Monday or Friday, pop in for a good, cheap meal with some nice folks.

Where to begin?...... The service was absolutely horrendous the waitress Kristina was rude,…read morebelligerent, and an absolute terrible person. She was ill tougned, short tempered and a very cold person to have serving my food. I would not reccomend coming here ever, only due to the service. Quality of food was good. But service absolutley ruined the experience. Also not to mention decor out of date most things completley out of place and makes you feel as if you are visiting a funeral home to have dinner.

I had the opportunity to visit the Golden Years Senior Center aka the Shoshone Senior Center in…read moreShoshone, Idaho recently. I am not a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. I was not able to find a website for them, but what I know is that they have a large library where seniors can come read or borrow books, and have bingo and pinochle games. Lunch is served on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Seniors, $4.00 Those under 60, $5.50 Before lunch was served there were some large homemade sugar cookies on each table which some people (like myself) enjoyed with coffee before the meal. The food here is simple, but good - a salad bar, ham, potato casserole, vegetables, and a roll were served when I was here. Everybody knows everybody here and in the pre-meal prayer they prayed for someone who was in the hospital. The facility is older but clean, with clean bathrooms, and hospitable people. As with all senior centers I have been to for lunch, they do a blessing before the meal and the Pledge of Allegiance. If you happen to be in Shoshone around lunch time on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday, pop in for a cheap meal with some nice folks.

I had the opportunity to visit the Hagerman Valley Senior Center in Hagerman, Idaho recently. I am…read morenot a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. Hagerman is a small town with less than 900 people in it, so the folks here are a tight-knit bunch. Tight-knit but funnny!! We played bingo before lunch (2 bingo boards are included in the price of your lunch) and the prizes were hilarious. They had large gift bags with different names on them. One was called "light up your life." The gentleman who won that bingo game received a light-up Christmas light necklace that he put on immediately. Someone said that you don't even have to decorate for Christmas, just invite him over. The other prize was called "make a spectacle of yourself" and that prize was a pair of reindeer glasses. Lots of laughs with these folks. Dessert was on the table - homemade chocolate chip and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. And they were gooooood. Lunch was salad bar, pineapple, and a piece of homemade pizza. My gosh it was good and filling. Drinks were water, coffee, and iced tea. They also have a thrift store in there where you can donate and/or purchase from. It was time to decorate for Christmas, so they asked for helpers to make a fire bucket line to help get the decorations out of storage. Nearly everyone helped with it. Just shows you the kind of people there are here. As with all senior centers I have been to for lunch, they do a blessing before the meal and the Pledge of Allegiance. hagermanvalleyseniorcenter.org - check the menu and if you see pizza on it, get there. You'll be glad you did.

Another fabulous lunch with the folks at the Ageless Senior Citizens (senior center) in Kimberly,…read moreIdaho. The salad bar was open an hour before lunch was served. And their salad bar is always fresh and clean with different things each time. This time there was some egg salad which was a delicious, sort of old-school change added to my salad. They have a variety of dressings and toppings, and an assortment of Chobani yogurt (donated by the fine folks of Chobani to all the senior centers in the Magic Valley). Drinks are included in the price of the meal ($6 for seniors, and $7.50 under 60): coffee, tea, water, milk, and orange juice. Today's meal was pot roast, baby carrots (and onions), roasted potatoes, dinner roll, Dutch apple pie, and banana cream pie. The pot roast was cooked well, fork-tender with burnt edges (good burnt), perfectly cooked roasted potatoes, and a soft multigrain roll. (I don't like cooked carrots, so I passed, but the lady I sat next to liked them really well. They give you so. much. food. I couldn't finish my meal! There was one piece of banana cream pie left, so I took as a sign that I should choose it over the Dutch apple pie. The banana cream pie was creamy and thick with fresh bananas and fresh whipped cream on top. The Dutch apple pie reminded me of something I've had in a school cafeteria; the lady next to me said it was very sweet. When I got there, they were having a fitness class and folks were walking in circles using bean bags for hand weights while listening to "Earth Angel" on the radio. This senior center is a great place for lunch - good people, clean place, and a healthy serving of lunch at a great price going to support this location for seniors.

I had the opportunity to visit the Camas County Senior Center in Fairfield, Idaho last week. I am…read morenot a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. This was my second visit to this senior center, but my first time having lunch here. Kelly, the site manager, was cooking what smelled like a delicious barbecue pork lunch on my first visit. The cook had called in sick and she was tasked with making the lunch. Her demeanor was still cheery and welcoming even with taking on a duty I don't think she was planning on this particular day. She also made what looked and smelled like some bomb homemade brownies. But on this visit - I got to have lunch. On the menu today was chicken and dumplings. Which admittedly is one of my least favorite things to eat. I would not ever have this - unless I had to. And being here for lunch, and it being what was served, I had to. And it wasn't bad. The people I was sitting with who have chicken and dumplings often said that these were pretty good. The flavor was good, there were big pieces of chicken, and the dumplings reminded me of gnocchi. Dumplings I've had - and not liked - in the past were very pasty/gummy. So these were OK for me, but pretty good by standards of people more familiar with what this dish should taste like. The salad bar is a good one. Clean, with a good amount of the usual fresh items to put on your lettuce in addition to cottage cheese and peaches. And for dessert: BROWNIES! They had baked 2 pans of them, and had a tub of vanilla ice cream to go with. The brownies were gooey and delicious and warm when I put the vanilla ice cream on top. Yummmmmy! Lunch is $5 for seniors, $6 for those under 60, and served on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Everybody knows everybody here. And they seem to take care of each other. So and so wasn't doing well, so they packed up a lunch and took it to him. They made a 2020 calendar to sell (with proceeds going back to the senior center) with everyone's birthdays on it. A group stayed after lunch to play cards. There was a quilting area where a lady was working on a quilt that was going to be for sale at the Christmas bazaar. They have many events here for seniors: *Art class each Thursday 10am-12pm *Bingo 2nd Wed 1pm *Book Club 1st Wed of each month 3:30pm *Breakfast 2nd Saturday 8-10am *Cards Tues/Wed/Fri 1:30-4pm *Exercise Class Tues/Thurs 5pm *Foot Clinic 4th Wed 9:30am *Laughter Yoga Tue1pm *Meditation Tues 7pm *Miracle Hot Springs Trip 1st Mon of each month 8am *Old Time Fiddlers 4th Fridays 11:30am *Prairie Quilters Tue/Fri 10am-12pm *Weight Loss Group Tues 10:30 am - when you're that far in and away from larger cities, I think it's great that they are a destination for people to get out and be social. The facility is clean, with clean bathrooms, delicious food, and good, quality people. As with all senior centers I have been to for lunch, they do a blessing before the meal and the Pledge of Allegiance. It's a pretty drive out to the Camas Prairie, and if you time it right, you can enjoy a nice meal with with great people too.