If a person is homebound, a hot meal may be the bright spot of the day. Madison Senior Center urgently needs volunteers to deliver those meals.

At Madison Senior Center, Lee Yi, at left, and Al Rhods load homebound meals for delivery. (Photo contributed)

Currently, the center needs six volunteers, but the need is ongoing, interim director Vickie Parker said. Volunteers must provide their own transportation and donate about 1.5 hours on one day each month. Homebound meals are delivered weekdays only and not on city holidays.

Volunteers arrive at the center at 11:15 a.m. to pick up meals and begin the two routes. “We operate using the ‘buddy system’ where no one goes on the route alone,” Parker said.

The volunteer shortage has resulted from changes to class or work schedules and family obligations.

Individuals who are 60 years or older receive homebound meals. “Once we’re contacted that someone needs to begin receiving the meals, we go out and interview the senior,” Parker said. “We then assess their needs and determine if they qualify for the meals.”

Homebound meals are balanced with a meat, starch, vegetable, fruit or fruit juice, dessert and milk. “It’s the same meal that is served to the clients attending the senior center that day,” Parker said.

Serving those meals at the center are Kwang ‘Lee’ Kuk Yi and daily volunteers. They also package the meals that homebound clients receive. The center serves approximately 250 meals each week.

In other center news, the Big Green Bus from Huntsville Hospital will visit on Jan. 24 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. “The medical team on board the bus will perform various health screenings, such as blood pressure and blood sugar checks,” Parker said.

Also, Madison County Sheriff’s Department employees with the Yellow Dot program will visit Jan. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to photograph clients and take medical information, which is placed in the client’s vehicles for emergency alerts.

Madison Senior Center’s address is 1282 Hughes Road. To volunteer, call Parker at 256-772-6242.