After being closed for more than a week, the Butler Meals on Wheels program will resume service on Tuesday.
Food deliveries were halted on New Year’s Eve when a burst pipe flooded the Meals on wheels office, which is located in the basement of St. Peter’s Anglican Church on East Jefferson Street. That left about 100 people without their daily food delivery.
Program director Mary Pataky said the cleanup is still ongoing but they have found a way to reopen. They will temporarily operate out of St. Michael the Archangel Parish on Center Avenue until construction at St. Peter’s is complete.
“There will be some construction taking place at the church but I didn’t want to remain closed because we are, of course, worried about our clients,” Pataky said in an interview Monday.
Pataky said the Butler community stepped up in a big way to help the Meals on Wheels program when they ran into trouble. She says residents stopped by the program’s flooded offices to offer their support and money. A local business- The Hoagie Shop- provided 180 free sandwiches to the Butler Meals on Wheels clients. The Butler Eagle also sponsored a fundraiser at The Hoagie Shop over the weekend, donating $1 per hoagie sold to Meals on Wheels. Pataky says $5,000 was raised.
“I’m so amazed with the Butler community,” Pataky said. “I can’t thank everyone enough for what they’ve done. We’re truly blessed.”
Butler Meals on Wheels delivers hot meals to about 100 shut-ins throughout the county every week day.