Left: Bill Tull watches former Mat-Su Senior Services, aka Palmer Senior Center, Board President Janet Beeter demonstrate her ulu-handling skills as she processes salmon donated to the center by way of the "Silvers for Seniors" campaign. Each year, members of Northern District Setnetters donate a portion of their catch during a single day of the fishing season to the senior center. Copper River Seafoods provides a tote with ice to haul fish from the Port of Anchorage to the center in Palmer. Once the silvers are delivered, a team goes to work cleaning and prepping the fish. This year, many of the longtime fish processing pros had retired – too many injured shoulders and rotator cuff replacements – so the call went out, and a dozen new volunteers showed up to learn and do the demanding work, according to a Palmer Senior Center press statement. The fish will provide nearly 140 salmon dinners to local seniors, an additional 110 home-delivered meals, and will be used in other dishes through the fall season.
During the last fiscal year, the center provided 12,400 meals in its dining facility, and 7,250 home-delivered meals, the press statement noted.
For more information, call 907-745-5454.