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Soup for Seniors event aims to collect 55,000 pounds of food for local seniors

Donations will be accepted until Feb. 5.

ROANOKE, Va. – The annual Soup for Seniors event is back, and this year, the Local Office of Aging, also known as the LOA, hopes to raise about 55,000 pounds of food.

Beginning Wednesday, you can drop off donations, including soup, peanut butter and oatmeal, at various locations throughout the Roanoke Valley and Alleghany. Donations will be accepted until Feb. 5.

All donations are then combined into food bags, which are distributed to seniors who receive services from the Local Office of Aging. They will receive the bags in February.

The Local Office of Aging is a nonprofit organization that has several services for seniors, including its Diners Club, where people can get together, play games and enjoy lunch.

Seniors in this program said the Local Office of Aging means a lot to them.

“Makes you think somebody really cares about you once in a while. It gives you something that helps you and makes you think, ‘I’m important too.’ I think that’s very important to me,” said Mary Lou Smith.

The Local Office of Aging also has its Meals for Wheels program. Through it, the LOA serves about 500 seniors daily, and there are about 20 people currently on the waitlist.

President and CEO Ron Boyd said it’s important to give seniors these meals this time of year.

“Fuel costs are high in the winter. They’re typically more isolated, more homebound, especially with the recent back-to-back snow storms, and so, they don’t get out as much. Their pantries are low. So, it’s a way to give to seniors,” said Boyd.

Soup for Seniors Volunteer Stuart Trinkle has been helping with the event since 2006 and said it’s essential.

“So, many of these folks who have worked their whole lives have to make choices between heat, food and medicine, and these bags are huge,” said Trinkle.

From the Soup for Seniors, the group hopes to give out meals to about 3,000 seniors.


About the Author
Keshia Lynn headshot

Keshia Lynn is a Multimedia Journalist for WSLS. She was born and raised in Maryland and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and Society from American University and a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.