Olympia seniors to get lunch on Fridays again, thanks to local donor

A $33,500 donation will restore Friday lunches for senior citizens in Olympia.

The donation from Subaru of America and Hanson Subaru will help provide more than 4,700 meals, according to Cathy Visser, nutrition director of Senior Services for South Sound.

The donation will be used to reopen the Olympia Senior Center Community Dining Site for Friday meals starting in May. The site was closed on Fridays in 2014 due to lack of funding, according to a news release.

This year the budget to serve approximately 110,000 meals to seniors in Thurston and Mason counties at eight sites and to more than 400 homebound seniors is a little more than $800,000. About half of that comes from funding provided by the Older Americans Act, with the remaining covered by individuals, organizations and community groups.

Hanson Subaru owner Vince Hanson said his business has been partnering with Senior Services for more than 10 years to provide the Senior Food Drive for Meals on Wheels. When he saw some of his clients at the meal service, he realized how important the service was to the community, according to a news release.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Olympia seniors to get lunch on Fridays again, thanks to local donor."