State senator, volunteers and county employees box food for local seniors

From Gwinnett Daily Post staff reports
As of Tuesday, June 24, 2014
© Copyright 2014 Gwinnett Daily Post

State Sen. Renee Unterman, left, talks with Jamie Cramer, manager for Gwinnett Senior Services, during an event where volunteers helped box up food for seniors in need in the Gwinnett community. (Staff Intern: Mallory Blount)

State Sen. Renee Unterman, left, talks with Jamie Cramer, manager for Gwinnett Senior Services, during an event where volunteers helped box up food for seniors in need in the Gwinnett community. (Staff Intern: Mallory Blount)

LAWRENCEVILLE —State Sen. Renee Unterman lended a helping hand Tuesday for Gwinnett County seniors in need.

Thanks to a grant awarded by Georgia Department of Human Services Commissioner Keith Horton, along with the State Unit on Aging Director James Bulot, Gwinnett County Senior Services was able to purchase food items for a much-needed mid-year food box campaign. Christmas, Thanksgiving and even Easter are the usual times individuals think of others in need of food.

“The summer is sort of a dry season,” D’Anna Liber, director for Gwinnett County DFCS, said. “During the summer there’s not really any kind of push toward food … but the need is still there.”

Unterman, Friends of Gwinnett Senior Services and members of the Gwinnett Coalition and its Senior Issues Action Team gathered Tuesday at the Gwinnett Senior Services Center in Lawrenceville to fill boxes with juice, pasta, fruit cups, beans, rice, pancake mix, grits and other foods that will be delivered later in the week to the senior population that receives home-delivered meals, as well as those who are on a waiting list for meal services.

Unterman is founder of Friends of Gwinnett Senior Services.

“I don’t think the community right now knows the impact that this is having because most people are not interested in it until they have a loved one (there),” Unterman said. “But I think as you see this generation of baby boomers coming along you are going to see a phenomenal impact because we are going to have the infrastructure in place. I imagine that this facility will be at capacity and that we will have to have another facility down the road.”

Volunteers also gathered Monday to pack boxes.

“I just think it’s good to be able to give back to the seniors of Gwinnett County,” Friends of Gwinnett Senior Services volunteer Ros Bennett said Monday. “So many seniors are in need within the county and this is a great time opportunity to donate some time to give back to them. They’ve done a lot for us in their years while they were working and now it’s good for us to be able to give to them.”