Attendance for a decades-long lunch program at Confederation Seniors Centre is dwindling, and organizers are losing money.
The program provides low-cost lunches throughout the week at the centre. The program, which has been running for roughly 20 years, usually attracts between 50 to 100 people, but more are needed to bring in enough revenue to keep the program afloat.
"We want word to get out there that lunch is available, whether you're a senior or not,"
said Ashley James, the centre's supervisor.
"It's an incredibly important part of what we do here, because for some of them, this is the big hot meal of the day."
The lunches run Monday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. till 1 p.m., and tickets are $7 for centre members or $8 for non-members. The price includes a main entrée, coffee, tea and dessert.
"That's a pretty darn good deal for lunch," James said.
The lunch program is also a social affair for the seniors, James said.
"We have people who come here at nine in the morning. They sit in the lobby, chat with their friends and wait to buy their ticket," she said.
The program is completely volunteer run, apart from one paid staff member who works in the centre's kitchen. The centre's staff members, who are City of Burnaby employees, run the program in conjunction with the Confederation Seniors' Association, the non-profit group that's connected with the centre.
"The volunteers do such a great job, and we want nothing but for it to succeed," James said.
But getting the word out is only part of the solution, she added.
"We are looking at other ways we can cut costs," she said.
For more information on the program, call the centre at 604-294-1936.
