Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels reopens some Silver Cafes

After more than a year of empty tables and chairs at Silver Café locations around Spokane County, Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels will begin reopening its cafes on Tuesday.

“It’s a pretty monumental return of a lifeline for nutrition and socialization,” director Jeff Edwards said.

When the pandemic hit and the Silver Cafés had to shut down, everyone who used to go to one of the locations and have lunch each weekday was given the option to have meals delivered to their homes.

Many did, but that option didn’t work for some more active seniors, Edwards said. GSCMOW began a Diner’s Choice program, with the help of grants and pandemic funding, which gave seniors coupons for a free meal to use at local restaurants.

The Diner’s Choice program is being shut down now that the cafés will be open again, Edwards said. The program spent about $700,000 at restaurants while it was running. Edwards said he’s pleased that the program helped seniors get nutritious meals while also supporting local restaurants when they needed a boost.

“It was a big win,” he said of the program.

The 12 Silver Café locations in Spokane County will begin opening Tuesday, though the schedule hasn’t been finalized at a couple of locations. Williams said the program will look a little different at some locations. Instead of offering a hot lunch five days a week, some sites will serve lunch once or twice a week and send diners home with to-go meals for the other days.

Edwards said the organization recognizes that it can be difficult for seniors to arrange transportation to meals five times a week, particularly in more rural areas, and getting to the café twice a week is easier to manage.

“That was a lesson we learned during the pandemic through food distribution,” he said.

The meal sites will also offer an experience closer to that of a diner, with seniors having a choice of soup, access to a salad bar on some days and a choice of beverages.

“We really want to transform the experience,” Edwards said.

The meal sites will follow the recommended COVID guidelines, Edwards said, so people who are fully vaccinated do not have to wear a mask. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving a second shot.

“We do have more space in some locations and seniors can space out,” he said.

Edwards said it was important to wait to open the Silver Cafés instead of trying to open them in some sort of limited fashion.

“We really wanted to wait until the all clear was given in Washington so people could come in confidence,” he said.

The suggested contribution remains at $5 per meal, but Edwards said that amount is only a suggestion.

“Seniors pay only what they can, or even nothing at all,” he said.

With the current hot weather, GSCMOW has been collecting donated fans to give to seniors who need them to keep cool at home.

“The community has really responded well,” Edwards said.

The fans are distributed to seniors who receive meals delivered to their homes and are also available to seniors who come to the Silver Café sites, Edwards said.

“We can have fans on site,” he said. “If they need a fan, we’ll have one to send home with them.”

Edwards said he’s glad to see the cafes open again after such a long hiatus.

“We’re excited to return to congregate meals,” he said. “It’s a big part of our mission.”

The Silver Cafés open five days a week are: Hillyard Senior Center, 4001 N. Cook, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning Tuesday; Clare View Senior Living, 4827 S. Palouse Highway, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning Tuesday; and Spokane Valley Senior Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday, start date to be determined.

Other Silver Café locations serving hot meals and providing to-go meals are: American Indian Center, 1025 W. Indiana, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday beginning Tuesday; Corbin Senior Center, 827 W. Cleveland Ave., 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday and Wednesday beginning July 12; Appleway Court, 221 S. Farr Road, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday and Wednesday beginning Wednesday; Opportunity Presbyterian Church, 202 N. Pines Road, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday beginning Tuesday; St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 602 E. Sixth Street, Deer Park, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Monday and Thursday beginning July 12; Spangle Service Club, 165 N. Main Street, Spangle, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday beginning July 19.

Additional locations will be added in Cheney, Airway Heights and Liberty Lake. For information on sites that do not have a schedule or a location yet, call GSMOW at (509) 924-6976 or visit www.gscmealsonwheels.org/sliver-cafes.