As Southern as fried chicken and red-eye gravy, Hoppin' John and collard greens is the traditional New Year's Day meal partaken of for good luck.

More than 125 area residents turned out for Monday's Elder Hop meal of black-eyed peas and greens, to benefit the local Meals on Wheels effort.

"So many seniors don't have anyone at home with them. Many seniors, they won't see anyone," Orangeburg County Council on Aging Chairperson Brenda Jamerson said. "We're trying to raise these funds to reach these seniors."

The effort is called the Elder Hop of which the main ingredients are Hoppin' John -- rice and black-eyed peas. But there is no end to the variety of special ingredients or seasoning.

The cornbread is just a plus, but so is the benefit of knowing a small donation will go a long way in assisting a senior citizen in the county this year.

"It gives us such an opportunity to come together and share a New Year's meal," said 4th Circuit Court Judge Karen Williams. "And it also is an opportunity to support their effort."

Sponsored by the Orangeburg County Council on Aging and catered locally by the Kuckery, the Elder Hop serves as the OCCOA's anchor fund-raising event for its Meals on Wheels program in the midst of a two-month fund-raising campaign.

Last year, the OCCOA's fourth annual Meals on Wheels Elder Hop raised about $4,400, or 40 percent more than the previous year. The entire campaign raised more than $47,000.

The goal is this year is to raise $50,000 during the fund-raising drive, which runs from December through February.

"If we don't, it isn't because we didn't try," said Branchville Mayor and Elder Hop Chairman Tim Cooner. "We've sent letters to churches, corporations, individuals."

The annual cost to feed an individual five days a week is $1,100.

Meals on Wheels is one of the council's in-home services; weekly or biweekly homemaker visits is the another.

"You get such joy when you go to that home and deliver that meal," Jamerson said. "They are so appreciative, and they are so looking forward to talking to that person."

Currently, about 210 meals are delivered to recipients in the Orangeburg area. That figure does not include meals prepared for individuals living in outlying communities across the county such as North, Bowman and other communities.

Preparation for the meals begins each weekday at 4 a.m. Route volunteers then pick up the meals anytime between 6:45 a.m. and 9 a.m.

"But all our people are doing about three people's jobs," Cooner said.

A volunteer for nearly 10 years, Tara Williamson delivers what is called the "Dantzler Street" route, a misleading name since her route covers the entire western portion of Orangeburg's city limits.

Williamson says her volunteering gives back to her more than she gives to the seniors.

"You get really close to them," she said. "I think it's something we should do. I enjoy doing it."

Jamerson added that many times it's not just the meal that is appreciated by these seniors.

"They're sort of a forgotten group of people," Jamerson said of the seniors throughout the community. "It really, really is a lonesome time, a lonesome existence for some. We're trying to do just a small part to make their lives a little better."

To qualify for Meals on Wheels home-delivery service, individuals must be homebound with little or no family support and have health problems that prevent them from cooking. If meals are supplied through funds from the council, individuals must be at least 60 years of age.

For more information on the Orangeburg County Council on Aging and its services, call 803-531-4663.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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