COSTA MESA : Project TLC Whips Up Food, Friends

The strains of “Melancholy Baby” were heard beyond the doors of the dining room of the Rea Community Center, where seniors meet every weekday to socialize and eat a hot lunch.

On one typical day, Project TLC workers whipped up baked fish with tartar sauce, baked potatoes, spinach, seven-grain rolls and cookies. An orange was placed on every serving tray, with milk and orange juice set on the tables for about 45 seniors.

A little entertainment was served up, too--an impromptu Charleston dance broke out between Muriel Nelson, who coordinates the meals served at the center, and Jessie Kelly, the senior nutrition services coordinator who also delivers meals to homebound seniors every day.

Project TLC is a program of the Feedback Foundation, which serves hot meals to seniors in 23 Orange County cities. While not specifically targeted at disadvantaged seniors, the program allows many on tight budgets to eat well, Nelson said.

“This is for the financially or socially needy senior,” she said. “You know, you could have a million dollars and not have a friend. We don’t like to put the emphasis on the financial needs because that makes it sound like charity.”

At one table, Mary and Gus Raimondi of Newport Beach laughed while remembering paying 50 cents for a meal when they first started coming to TLC lunches in 1978, when the meals were served at the Moose Club. Now, seniors are asked to pay $1.50 per lunch.

Project TLC gatherings also serve as a daily social event. A few times a week someone will play the piano or sing, and sometimes a dance group will offer to entertain. The seniors are also treated to films brought by community college students about twice a week.

On Wednesdays, a larger group of seniors comes for the meals and then stays afterward for a game of bingo. And once a month, the seniors celebrate all the birthdays in that month.

“That’s why I come. It’s all one clique; we all know each other,” Mary Raimondi said.

The lunch program will move from the Rea Center to the new Costa Mesa Senior Citizens Center when it is completed this spring. Kelly said she expects the program to expand significantly because the center will offer classes and other programs, bringing more seniors to one location.