Meals on Wheels Yolo County announced it had secured a lease on kitchen space in Winters and expects it will be able to double the number of meals they provide for older adults in Yolo.
The additional 5,300 square feet of commercial kitchen space in Winters is located at 111 Main St. where the Buckhorn Restaurant’s catering business has been stationed for more than 25 years.
“Our kitchen is the heart of our operation, so sharing this transformational news on Valentine’s Day seems so appropriate,” said Joy Cohan, MOW Yolo Executive Director. “Over the past year, the MOW Yolo team has been inspired to dramatically deepen our impact upon senior nutrition deficits in the county, which has made the capacity limits of our current kitchen in Woodland very frustrating. American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding, approved by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, has made it possible to begin to change this narrative.”
A MOW press release stated the pandemic caused the catering operation to downsize, eliminating the need for such a large food production space. However, the Buckhorn was still responsible to pay the lease through part of 2023, until a community member advised Cohan of the potential for a “win-win” solution.
“The lease for the additional commercial kitchen space in Winters will mean serving more seniors in Winters, but also countywide, as we have both temperature-controlled equipment and vehicles that allow for safe transport of packaged meals from the commercial kitchens in both Winters and Woodland to locations throughout the county,” Cohan said.
Cohan told the Express that MOW is looking forward to re-exploring opportunities for this socialization program for seniors to return to Winters and other areas of the county.
“It is possible that congregate dining may return to the Winters Community Center later this year, especially once we are fully functional in the new Main St. kitchen. Overall, traditional congregate dining has been returning from pandemic pause very slowly, not just in Yolo County, but in neighboring counties, as well,” Cohan said.
To connect with services or to offer support, visit mowyolo.org, email welcome@mowyolo.org, or call 530-662-7035.
