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For seven years Arvid Tougas has been delivering meals to residents on the east side of Brainerd.
A retired IBM employee from Rochester with roots in the Brainerd area, the rural Brainerd resident saw a notice in the St. Mathias Catholic Church bulletin seven years ago advertising for drivers at the Lutheran Social Services Senior Nutrition program.
As Tougas delivered each of his meals last week, he announces himself at the door. Sometimes a smiling person greets him and thanks him for the meal.
Located in the basement of the Lakes Area Senior Activity Center, the senior nutrition program cooks create 160 meals a day Monday through Friday, with 75 of them delivered by volunteer drivers. Several meals are frozen if people would like to heat up a meal on the weekend.
Funding for the program comes from the Older Americans Act and is administered by the Central Minnesota Council on Aging.
