Local people can get their first taste of sweet corn this season at Friday's Taste of Jamestown in downtown Jamestown thanks to Meals on Wheels of the Jamestown Area.
The organization will be selling freshly cooked corn-on-the-cob at the event as a fundraiser for the meal delivery program. Meals on Wheels is participating for the first time in Taste of Jamestown, sponsored by the Downtown Jamestown Development Corp.
"We're excited about taking part in Taste of Jamestown, and seeing the thousands of people who will be downtown," said Barrie Yochim, executive director for Meals on Wheels. "If these individuals haven't had hot corn on the cob yet this season, we can get them what they want."
The corn will be served hot, and event participants can dip their corn in hot butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
The Meals on Wheels corn stand will be located in front of Geraci and Co. accountants at 18 E. Third St.
Owner John Geraci is treasurer of the Meals on Wheels board of directors.
The corn can be purchased with two event tickets, which is the equivalent of $1. No cash can be accepted at the corn stand, per DJDC guidelines.
Yochim said local corn producers have donated corn for the event. They are: Anderson's Produce in Sinclairville, Anderson's Farm on Foote Avenue Extension, Scott's Farm, Peterson Farm and Abers Acres. Chautauqua Restaurant Supply is also donating items for the event.
A big help to the corn sale will be the participation of two groups who will volunteer to help get corn the hands of consumers.
Those groups are Jamestown Chiefs Cheerleading, and the Eastside Family YMCA through the Young Adult Advancement Anticipative summer job program from Chautauqua Works.
These volunteers will be helping members of the Meals on Wheels board of directors with the corn stand.
Yochim said a lot of thanks must go to the DJDC for helping Meals on Wheels organize the event.
"The DJDC has gone out of its way to help us," he said. "This is the third year we've been able to participate in a downtown event, which has helped us raise money and talk about Meals on Wheels to everyone who attends."
Proceeds from the corn sale at Taste of Jamestown will go to help pay for meal delivery to senior citizens in our area who cannot pay for their meals, or who can pay only a small amount.
Meals on Wheels of the Jamestown Area provides hot and cold home-delivered meals five days a week in half of Chautauqua County.
The suggested cost for home delivery of one hot meal and one cold meal is $7 per day.
For either a hot or cold meal, the suggested cost is $4 per day.
Meals on Wheels can also provide ready-to-heat frozen meals for use on weekends.
Yochim said that many individuals in Chautauqua County can't pay for meal delivery, and the organization relies on fund-raising events like Taste of Jamestown to raise money. Meals on Wheels also receives funding from United Way of Southern Chautauqua County and Chautauqua County Office For the Aging, as well as other individual contributors.
Meals are delivered by a combination of paid drivers and volunteers from the community. Some Meals on Wheels volunteers are from the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.
Any Chautauqua County senior citizen can receive home meal delivery. Meals on Wheels of the Jamestown Area delivers to the southern half of Chautauqua County.
Sinclairville 76ers provides home-delivered meals to participants in the towns of Charlotte, Cherry Creek, Gerry and Ellington, and in Cassadaga, Stockton and Lily Dale. Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels provides home-delivered meals to participants along the Lake Erie lakeshore from Brocton to Silver Creek, including the towns of Hanover and Villenova, and in Forestville.
For more information about Meals on Wheels, call 488-9119.