Gold Plate still cookin', but meals are 'to go' only

Senior centers throughout Illinois, including Gold Plate in Du Quoin, have been ordered to close their in-house dining rooms as of Thursday, in an effort by the Illinois Department of Aging to keep seniors safe from the coronavirus.

Seniors are considered among the most vulnerable citizens to the virus, now considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since the virus is easily passed between people, seniors will not be allowed to congregate for lunch at senior centers. However, the meals will still be made available to them.

As of Wednesday afternoon there have been no reported cases of coronavirus in southern Illinois. The closest reported case is in St. Louis.

At Gold Plate, meals will still be prepared as usual, and seniors are invited to come to Gold Plate between 10 a.m. and noon to pick them up. Seniors who can't get there on their own can request delivery, said Jill Sanders, assistant director at Gold Plate.

Sanders said the Gold Plate staff talked with their seniors on Wednesday to let them know about the dining room closing indefinitely. They called other seniors who frequent Gold Plate and posted information on their Facebook page.

"We're very close with our people," Sanders said.

She urges seniors who rely on Gold Plate meals as part of their healthy daily diet to keep coming. Gold Plate meals are nutritionally balanced, and nutrition is key for seniors.

Sanders said the difficult part of this is the isolation the coronavirus is imposing on the elderly.

"They come here for the nutrition but they also come for the socialization," Sanders said.

She said 20 to 30 seniors come in each weekday for lunch and activities.

"It depends on what activity or speaker is coming or even what's on the menu," Sanders said.

For the last few weeks, the Gold Plate staff has been busy sterilizing the room each day after everyone leaves.

She said they also will try to keep the transportation service working, but instead of putting multiple seniors into one vehicle, they will have one-on-one rides, Sanders said.

For seniors ordering meals, Gold Plate would prefer the meals are ordered the day before, "but we understand," if that doesn't happen, she said. The number is (618) 542-3511.

If it would help them to follow us on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Gold Plate's day care services for the elderly are still open, but Sanders expects it may also get closed shortly.

The staff at Gold Plate has been warning family members to be thinking about alternatives for their loved ones, if senior day cares are shut down by the state, Sanders said.