Redmond Senior Center invites public to grand reopening of kitchen after extensive remodel

(Adding video, interview)

Hayden Homes to donate $75,000 over three years to support Meals on Wheels program

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Redmond Senior Center will hold a grand reopening of its newly remodeled kitchen at a public event Thursday afternoon and accept a donation of $75,000 over three years from Hayden Homes to support the Redmond Meals on Wheels program.

The public and media are invited to attend the grand reopening event, which will be held at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Redmond Senior Center, 325 NW Dogwood Avenue.

The senior center kitchen serves hundreds of Redmond seniors with programs every day, including about 150 through Meals on Wheels and dozens more who come daily to participate in a lunch congregate program. In recent years, the declining condition of the 35-year-old kitchen began to seriously hamper operations.  

“Nothing was working -- just as soon as we’d get something fixed, something else would break,” said Diana Barker, chair of the Redmond Senior Center Board of Directors. “Now, it’s a beautiful facility with upgraded equipment.”

Community partners came together to fund the complete remodel, which took two years. The project cost about $500,000. The City of Redmond and Deschutes County each provided $250,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Many other individual donors also support the Redmond Senior Center.  

Barker said the kitchen is about much more than serving food.

“The Senior Center is trying to reach out and be a resource, because isolation and loneliness can lead to mental health issues and decline, especially among seniors,” Barker said. “We know that companionship can really curb some of those issues. We need to keep people active and feeling like a part of the community. The senior center programs  – and these meal programs – are how we do that.”

For those who can’t easily come into the Redmond Senior Center for lunch and companionship, the Meals on Wheels program is a critical lifeline. The meals prepared by Chef Jose Perez, his staff, and a band of volunteer kitchen helpers not only provide sustenance, but connection as well.

Each week, hundreds of volunteer drivers check in on the community’s most vulnerable while serving them delicious and nutritious fresh-cooked meals.

It costs about $25,000 a month to fund Redmond Meals on Wheels. It’s a community program Hayden Homes is thrilled to support.

“Hayden Homes exists to Give As You Go™, so together we create a strong community,” said Deb Flagan, vice president of community engagement and giving. “Redmond is our home town and we are honored to support the seniors of this community who have given so much to make Redmond the thriving city it is today.”

As the center continues to grow, leaders hope to be able to expand programs to support more seniors in Redmond and surrounding areas with services that honor older adults as valuable community members and provide a comfortable and safe place to have lunch, make friends, and learn new skills.

Visit redmondseniors.org to learn more about the impact the Redmond Senior Center is making in the region.