Hub delivers 350 meals a day in county

The dining room at the Hub on Smith Street has been closed for several months, but thanks to volunteers and a dedicated staff, the facility has continued to serve home-delivered meals throughout the COVID pandemic.

Hub Executive Director Carmen Rideout said before the pandemic, the Hub was averaging around 180 home-delivered meals a day. Now, she said, the average is around 350 meals a day.

She said the Hub has delivered meals for years in the Tongue River Valley Mondays through Fridays, but the Hub has been able to add a few more routes in that area as well.

She said although the Hub’s dining room is closed, meals are prepared in the kitchen at the building on Smith Street and delivered from there as in the past. Rideout said the Hub has been fortunate in that the kitchen crew has been staying healthy and doing great.

In addition to the Hub, the closure has extended to the facility’s outlying sites elsewhere, so no congregate meals are being served anywhere in the county.

Rideout said the number of people being provided with meals is around the same as before the pandemic.