Once discarded Broseley senior photos adorn the walls of the Broseley Senior and Community Center, a reminder of Broseley’s history and the patrons they serve. The center does not just serve the citizens of Broseley however, diners come from all over the area to enjoy the down-home style meals offered at the center.
“We have been blessed, we have people who come here from Arkansas, Campbell, Bernie, Puxico, Dexter, Poplar Bluff, they really do come from all over,” said Carol Brotherton, director of the community center.
Currently, meals are offered at the center Monday through Friday, breakfast is served from 6-9 a.m. and lunch is served from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and on Friday from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Every Friday the center serves catfish with all the traditional trimmings. The cost of a meal for seniors age 55 and older is $5 Monday through Thursday and $6 on fish Friday, for non-seniors, the cost of a meal is $6 daily and $8 on Friday. Each meal comes with a drink and a homemade dessert. There is usually a sugar-free dessert option offered as well.
The facility is available for rent on the weekends for dinners, parties and receptions and has a full kitchen available for those events.
When asked if they had experienced the same difficulties that so many other businesses have had receiving goods and supplies Brotherton said, “Oh yes, yes we have, I am having to use a different salad dressing in my slaw, my distributor has been out of it for months and for some time we had trouble getting our styrofoam containers, but we have made do.”
She went on to say, “we’re able to get some things from the SEMO food bank and we pass those savings along to the customers as well.”
The center serves seniors and the community daily, during the COVID shut-down Brotherton said they served as many as 300 meals a day to students in the area.
The front wall of the center’s dining room is lined with stacks of senior boxes which contain staple foods for seniors in need of assistance with nutritional meals. Seniors only need to fill out a form to see if they meet the income guidelines to receive the boxes which are distributed once a month.
The center is staffed by Brotherton and a few dedicated volunteers, “I have a good group here, we have been so blessed by God with volunteers and donations,” said Brotherton.
If you are interested in checking out the community center or seeing what is on the menu for the week visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/broseleyseniorcommunitycenter/.