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.

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.

I had the opportunity to visit Senior Connection aka the Hailey Senior Center in Hailey, Idaho. I…read moream not a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. Wow - what an amazing place! I've been to a lot of senior centers lately and this one is well above a 5-star rating. It's a large, clean facility. There is a "bar" with coffee, juice, tea, and ice cream. Salad bar, giant portions of assorted dessert cakes and pies. And good food. Apparently, their chef left so they have been putting out these lunches with people pitching in to help. And doing a spectacular job. Today's lunch was spaghetti and meatballs, corn, garlic toast, salad bar, Italian wedding soup (with meatballs) with sourdough bread and butter. The place was packed with seniors, but also locals who were not seniors who came in for lunch. They have a full suite of activities like fitness classes, bingo, and seasonal activities like a festival of trees. Check out their website - it's up-to-date and pretty impressive: https://seniorconnectionidaho.org/.

I had the opportunity to visit the Minidoka County Senior Center in Rupert, Idaho last week. I am…read morenot a senior, but I was there on business to provide some information to local seniors. The facility is large. It's clean. It's well laid out. The bathrooms are spotless and have lotion and pump soaps that are from Bath & Body Works sort of places. (Perhaps they are donated, but it was a nice touch.) Penny, the manager is lovely. Super friendly, very helpful, and very gracious. I think folks sit in their groups of who their friends and neighbors are, but they were all welcoming and kind. Just a nice bunch of people. They do the Meals on Wheels program out of this location, and the same lunch that goes out for them is also made for lunch for people to come in and enjoy. Lunch is $5 for seniors, and $6 for non-seniors. I did not take a photo - but the meal was gigantic and delicious. You get a cafeteria tray and they load. it. up. You put the salad on your plate and top it with dressing. And then go down the line where they put a humongous piece of chicken fried steak, a big helping of mashed potatoes with white gravy on them (and on the chicken fried steak), some yellow corn, and a large, fluffy white roll. I had my choice of a cup of strawberry ice cream or rainbow sherbet - I went with the rainbow sherbet and it was tangy and yummy. I could not finish my meal - it was SO MUCH FOOD! - and never have I ever not finished a meal - ha ha! Cold tea, hot tea, water, and coffee are included. I think I may have seen some lemonade, but don't quote me on that. If you happen to be in Rupert, and want a delicious meal with some good, quality people, stop in - - and/or recommend this place to any seniors you know in the Rupert area!

Another great senior center offering meals and activities to the senior and not-so senior community…read morein Mountain Home. This is a clean, spacious facility, with a long ramp outside for wheelchairs access/entry. The front parking lot is a little snug, but they have a lot of parking on the back side. Lunch is served on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with Meals on Wheels home-delivered meals on the same days. The lunch calendar may be found here: https://mountainhomeseniorcenter.org/lunch-calendar/. They have a lot of activities including a popular fitness class, and Pinochle each Thursday and Sundays Quilting - 2nd and 4th Tuesday (winter months) Bunco - 1st Wednesday each month Hand and Foot Cards each Wednesday and Friday Line Dancing each Tuesday and Thursday Adult Coloring each Tuesday. Currently they are offering free tax preparation (by appointment) available through an AARP partnership. (I did not take pictures of this one, but will on a future visit.)

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 hit a new senior center for lunch last week - this time in Glenns Ferry…read more They have a pretty good turnout for lunch - which starts with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. Lunch is $4 for seniors and $6 under age 60. Today's lunch was fish (which I do not care for), creamy cheesy potatoes, and beets (which I do not care for). (Obviously I should have called ahead for the menu before deciding this would be the day that I visit.) It's hard to say because I don't like fish, but I tried it and it seemed flaky with some moisture ... so I guess it was good? I loaded it up with tartar sauce, which was a little on the mayonnaisey side but was good. The cheesy potatoes were well cooked, and in a super thick cheesy and cream sauce. Everyone seemed to like the beets - I did not try them because I do not like them. I enjoyed a soft piece of wheat bread out of the package though. Drink offerings are milk or water - - there may have been coffee and tea which is customary at senior centers, though I didn't notice it. Dessert was tapioca pudding with some Oreo crumbles on top - it was tasty. Tables were adorned with little Valentine birdhouses decorated with Conversation Hearts and licorice.