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By Molly Roberts
It all started with a donation from Jessica Hochstedler Yoder and Yoder & Bigley Relators, who stepped forward to donate hot meals to area seniors every Thursday in January and February. That got the conversation going between Kalona City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh and Wellman City Administrator Kelly Litwiller about how to best meet the needs of seniors in the community.
The Cities of Kalona and Wellman are partnering to piggy-back off that donation to provide hot meals to seniors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well.
“The need for seniors was out there,” Schlabaugh said. “They weren’t necessarily using the pop-up pantries because they didn’t need the bulk food. The pop-up pantry boxes would be 40-50 pounds and a lot of seniors didn’t feel comfortable getting those because it was just too much.”