Bamberg, South Carolina (March 2020) –  On March 26, the Bamberg County Office on Aging, led by Director Kay Clary, worked with the Lower Savannah Council of Governments, Bamberg County County Council, City of Bamberg, and staff from multiple Bamberg County departments to prepare for the delivery of 2,534 frozen meals in the next two weeks for local senior citizens.

Typically, the Office on Aging serves hot meals to local seniors. The Office on Aging prepares the meals at their facility in Bamberg. However, with health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office on Aging, in an effort to protect the health of their staff, volunteers, and the seniors they serve, discontinued delivering daily meals and serving community-style meals in their dining room. To meet the needs of 181 Bamberg County seniors, the Bamberg County Office on Aging, along with partners and volunteers, ordered 2 weeks’ worth of frozen meals supplemented with fruits, puddings, milk and juices. Staff and volunteers broke down and repackaged 2,534 meals in one day.

Bamberg County Office on Aging is one of the only agencies of its kind that does not have a walk-in freezer, which made storing and delivering over 2,500 an especially challenging feat. “I thank Joey Preston and Brittany Barnwell for their efforts to secure freezer space so that the Office on Aging can still provide nutrition to county seniors during this time,” remarked Kay Clary, Director of the Bamberg County Office on Aging. “We also thank Denmark Tech, Bamberg Piggly Wiggly, and the Bamberg County Detention Center for allowing us to use their freezer space to store the meals.”

“It is a priority to keep all of our citizens safe during this unprecedented time,” said Trent Kinard, Bamberg County Councilman. “Bamberg County Council appreciates all the work that went into organizing these meals and the logistics of arranging adequate freezer space so that our senior citizens can safely receive meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s vital that our community works together to protect the most vulnerable among us and that we all do our part to keep one another safe and healthy.”

Bamberg County Office on Aging is still offering transportation services and meal delivery. However, all other community style activities have been cancelled until further notice to protect the staff, volunteers, and citizens. For additional information, please call the Bamberg County Office on Aging at 803-245-3021.