News & Events

Events in 2022

Point Arena Food Bank Distribution

Events in 2021

May Meals on Wheels Fundraising Dinner

On May 7th we held our second drive-thru BBQ at the Gualala Community Center and once again the community showed its support for our Meals on Wheels program. Denise Souza and Renée Kling hosted the event that featured marinated sirloin tip roast, potato salad, ranch beans, corn muffins, and chocolate cupcakes. Everything was made from scratch, the portions were huge and delicious. Community response was great and we sold 175 meals. Carolyn André was also on site handing out flowers for all the diners to celebrate Mother’s Day.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers for their assistance during the drive-thru event and special thanks to Surf Market for providing food and the Gualala Community Center for allowing us to use the hall and parking lot.

Point Arena Food Bank - New Extended Hours

Events in 2020

October Meals on Wheels Fundraising Dinner

The drive-thru BBQ dinner that Coastal Seniors held on Saturday, October 10th to support the coast’s Meals on Wheels program was a big hit. The community showed up in force and we served more than 300 meals in two hours (!!) with all funds raised directly benefiting the program. Smoked pulled pork BBQ sandwiches and all the fixings were on the menu with a meatless lasagna as a vegetarian option.

H&H Contractors and their amazing volunteers led by Jeff Heenan and his daughter Jessica delivered what many diners later described as “the best pulled pork” they had ever tasted. It melted in your mouth and was perfectly seasoned. Jeff’s reputation as a smoke master is well deserved! Jeff smoked more than 21 pork butts and made 57 pounds of lasagna and was still standing at the end of the night.

No meal is complete without a sweet at the end and Pelican Bread Company made sure diners had a tasty dessert. James and his team baked and donated more than 300 huge mouth watering chocolate chip cookies!

Local businesses donated gift certificates that we randomly placed in bags as an extra surprise for some of our diners. Thanks to Arena Market & Café, Gualala Supermarket, Gualala Seafood Shack, the ICO, Serenity Garden Gallery, Surf Market, and Trinks for their generosity. We would also like to thank Gualala Supermarket and Surf Market for providing food and beverages and The Gualala Community Center for allowing us to use their hall and parking lot.

Show Us Your Dinner! Photo Contest Winner

We asked diners to post or share pictures of themselves, friends, and family enjoying their dinners for a chance to win a gift certificate. We received some great entries - check them out below.

Point Arena Food Bank

NEW EXTENDED HOURS!

Food Bank and Senior Box (CSFP) distribution. All ages welcome.

Veterans Building, Point Arena
24000 S. Hwy. 1
8:30-10:30 am and 3:30-4:30 pm

Due to COVID-19 we are taking additional precautions and we will implement drive-thru distribution with one-way traffic control. Bags and other items will be delivered to recipients' cars, nobody will be allowed to enter the building. Please contact Coastal Seniors for more info, 707-882-2137.

2020 March for Meals 5k Walk Canceled

Coastal Seniors is concerned about what a significant outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Mendonoma area could mean for the vulnerable seniors we serve. We are closely monitoring information and resources being shared by the experts in disease control and are putting prevention and response plans into place. We follow health officials' recommended steps to protect against coronavirus similarly to how we prevent the spread of other illnesses. Staff and volunteers are trained appropriately.

We know the critical importance of preparation in times like this and understand the delicate balance between panic and preparedness. We have made the difficult decision to cancel our March for Meals 5k fundraising walk that was to take place on Saturday, Match 14th. This event was to be part of our month long celebration to raise awareness and support to fight hunger and isolation in our community. Many of the walk’s participants come from out of town and we are erring on the side of caution.

If you were planning to attend the walk and you would like to donate the registration fee we will make arrangements to get a walk t-shirt to you. We appreciate your understanding and continued support.

COASTAL SENIORS JOINS IN MONTH-LONG MARCH FOR MEALS

CELEBRATION WITH COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE

Support will help to fight senior hunger and isolation along the Mendonoma Coast.

Coastal Seniors will be participating in the 18th annual March for Meals – a month-long, nationwide celebration of Meal on Wheels and our senior neighbors who rely on the vital service to remain healthy and independent at home. Coastal Seniors’ celebration will include various activities throughout the month of March, including:

Senators, 5th District Supervisors, City Councilmembers and Congressman will be invited to visit our dining site and volunteering for Meals on Wheels throughout the month of March to see first-hand how vital our program is to our rural, isolated communities.
Spaghetti Dinner on Friday, March 27, from 5-7 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building in Point Arena—the dinner is being hosted by the Arena Union Elementary School teachers & staff.

”The services we provide are a lifeline for seniors of the Mendonoma Coast and the need is rapidly increasing,” said Nancy Gastonguay, Executive Director of Coastal Seniors. “Together, we can keep our senior neighbors well-nourished, feeling safer and more connected to our community as they age.”
The annual March for Meals celebration commemorates the historic day in March of 1972 when President Nixon signed into law a measure

that amended the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include a national nutrition program for seniors 60 years and older. Since 2002, community-based Meals on Wheels programs from across the country have joined forces for the annual awareness campaign to celebrate this successful public-private partnership and garner the support needed to fill the gap between the seniors served and those still in need.

“THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE ARE A LIFELINE FOR
SENIORS OF THE MENDONOMA COAST AND THE NEED IS RAPIDLY INCREASING.”

“The month of March is a fitting time to not only celebrate the successful history of Meals on Wheels, but also bring us together to support a solution that will strengthen communities into the future,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO of Meals on Wheels America. “With 12,000 Americans turning 60 each day, now is the time to invest in these vital programs so that we can provide every senior in need with the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that will enable them to live healthier and independent in their own homes.”

Help us raise awareness this March by getting involved. Volunteer, donate or help to keep our social media campaign alive.

Events in 2019

October Meals on Wheels Fundraising Dinner

Flu Shot Clinics

September BBQ Dinner

A BBQ dinner was the perfect way to kick off Fall. Shepherd by the Sea Episcopal-Lutheran Church hosted the very successful fundraising dinner benefiting Coastal Seniors’ Meals on Wheels program on Friday, September 27th. Joanne Corey and Linda Kennedy led the church's organizing group, with twenty-four church members volunteering in person at the dinner. More than 100 diners enjoyed pulled pork with BBQ sauce, coleslaw, baked beans, and chips, with ice cream and brownies for dessert. Talk about innovation - everyone was intrigued by the vegetarian entree, Jackfruit in BBQ sauce, which tasted delicious. BBQ Jackfruit could become a staple at more BBQs next summer! The tables were beautifully set with checkered table cloths and topped by seasonal flowers. Who knew that empty beer bottles would make such pretty vases?

As always, generous support from Surf Market and Gualala Supermarket made the event possible. In addition, the church received a $250 grant from Thrivent which helped to underwrite the costs. The dinner raised a record amount, through food and beverage sales, cash donations, and a gift basket raffle. A variety of amazing donations for the basket came from Shepherd by the Sea members, and the Surf donated the colorful basket. There was a lot of discussion about the basket and its contents and many were trying to figure out how to improve their odds of winning. At the end of the evening, Jaime Orsini pulled Marjie van Gunten's winning ticket from the ticket jar.

Thanks to all the volunteers and community members who attended and made this a very special evening.

August Spaghetti Dinner

Maybe it was the holiday weekend or the fact that The Sea Ranch organizers sent reminder emails, but 123 people came to chow down at the spaghetti dinner on August 30th. The place was packed! Jim and Marcia Nybakken recruited their many friends and fellow board members or ex-board members to volunteer for the event, which they did happily and well.

There were lots of compliments on the food. Linda Weinstein said of the meat sauce, It is spicy, but good spicy. Shawn Doebling liked the red wine. Several people said they tried both sauces, just for the heck of it. Deliziosa! Lu and Maynard Lyndon turned out as well as Donlyn Lyndon and wife, Alice Wingwall. It was unclear what lead to their high spirits but they applauded the food and anything else they could think of. That Alice is a rabble-rouser. Speaking of high spirits, Nigel Blair-Jones, the bartender, told Tim Fulkerson, resplendent in red pants, that he was thinking about becoming a professional bartender based on his experience at the dinner. But don’t tell anybody. I’m not sure he wanted that known.
Young trendsetter, Eddie Bower, was there with his kid brother and parents. His previously pink and purple hair, which looked surprisingly cool, is now a slightly more normal blond with tinges of pink.

Picking up on CLSD’s red and white checked disposable tablecloths last month, Marcia Nybakken selected a more ethereal blue and white. So the place looked and felt dressed up. However, the crowd wasn’t. Due to the heat, smart people, like Jackie Gardner, wore shorts.

One table discussed missing Barry Richman because of his mostly terrible jokes. I understand that Chris Jaap of The Sea Ranch was offered a job several times by people who observed his bussing speed and joviality. But he was just one of many volunteers who did a really great job. Thank you.

July Spaghetti Dinner

Over one hundred people polished off at least one plate of spaghetti Friday night at the spaghetti dinner hosted by the Coast Life Support District (CLSD). Evan Dilks, Director of Operations at CLSD, managed to talk his wife, Chris, into helping with sauce. It would be interesting to know what he had to promise. Chris and David Caley, District Administrator, made great meat and vegetarian sauces. People must have known about their spaghetti skills because the place was hopping.

Evan also helped with sausage grilling and slicing for the meat sauce. There were a lot of other mostly CLSD staff and Board members helping in the kitchen (see below). They looked like a well-oiled machine. Other CLSD spouses and community volunteers helped as well.
Goldie wore a pin that read, “I am not Bonnie.” And Bonnie was sporting her “I am not Goldie” pin. The women look nothing alike except that they’re tall and blond, but are often mistaken for one another.

EMTs and Paramedics from CLSD later joined them in the kitchen and were out in force in and around the tables enjoying the all you can eat spaghetti, salad bar, and ice cream along with the rest of
the community.

There was a lot of discussion at the tables about vacations: some people had just returned while others were about to set off. But all came together for one night to help the fundraiser benefitting Meals on Wheels. Poor Geoff Beatty, CLSD Board Chair, missed his first day of vacation to be at the dinner.

The tables were decorated with traditional red and white tablecloths, although no chianti bottle candles graced the tables.

Eddie Bower was the lead busser and helper. Flowers from the tables were passed out to diners to take home. Three year old Lute Bower, wanting to be a volunteer just like his big brother, Mom, Julie, and Dad, David, spent his time taking them back from everyone and putting them all together on one of the tables. A charming example of community pitching in!

As always, special thanks to Gualala Supermarket, Surf Market, and Gualala Community Center for providing beverages, food, and venue.