St Munchins Community Centre delivers meals to those in need. Linda Ledger pictured above working hard in the kitchen at St Munchins with chef Christy O’Brien. Picture: Leon Ledger

St Munchins Community Centre delivers over 85,000 meals during pandemic

The meals are delivered straight to your door by the friendly drivers who volunteer with the centre. Picture: Leon Ledger

Over the course of the pandemic, St Munchin’s Community Centre on the northside of Limerick city delivered more than 85,000 meals across Limerick city and county.

St Munchin’s Community Centre provided a hot daily meal to 85,159 people over the age of 55 across Limerick from February 14 to September 25. Over the same period, 2,590 food parcels were delivered to children in need, with the service extending throughout the city and county.

In order to do the Meals on Wheels initiative, the facility at Kileely Court relied on the kindness of volunteers, including several metropolitan district councillors.

St Munchin’s Community Centre has played an active role in promoting and developing the community since its establishment in 2005. St Munchin’s delivers about 2,706 Meals on Wheels during in a week to people who need help from the community during this trying time.

On top of all the other work that the Community Centre does, St Munchin’s manager, Linda Ledger, revealed that during the pandemic they also delivered bread, milk, toilet roll, and anything else senior citizens needed that were being forced to cocoon during the lockdown.

The kitchens at the community centre are staffed by qualified chefs who cook and prepare each meal. The food is made fresh daily, with a different main course Monday to Saturday along with dessert. Each lunch costs €4.50 and dessert is an additional 50 cents, which is delivered straight to your door by the friendly drivers who volunteer with the centre.

Now, with many people fearful of a second wave and a second lockdown, it is imperative that the St Munchin’s Community Centre be able to continue its work with the community of Limerick.

Linda Ledger, the manager of St Munchins, said, “I’m under severe pressure at the moment because every day there are new people ringing and looking for meals, the last thing we ever want to do is not be able to feed someone. We have families ringing from all over telling us they can’t go see their elderly relatives as they don’t know if they are sick or not, so we are kind of a lifeline to these people too. No matter what happens we have to stay open to be able to help these people.”

“I know we are making a huge difference because the amount of people who are isolated and need our service is increasing all the time. But we need assistance to help feed Limerick and our surrounding areas, every little goes a long way and we thank you for your continuous support throughout these hard times. It is through donations and communities working together that we will get through this difficult time.”

To donate to the Meals on wheels initiative, click HERE

To learn more about the St Munchin’s Community Center, click HERE

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