Trees for meals

How do you turn festive trees into funds? Shoshone County has been making it happen for years with the Festival of Trees. 

In Wallace and Osburn, themed trees are being adorned in preparation for the Festival of Trees at the Shoshone County Courthouse and the Osburn Senior Center. The silent auction begins Monday, Nov. 27 and ends Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. Supporters buy tickets and pick their favorites and put their tickets in a drawing to win. The auction proceeds go directly to benefit Silver Valley Meals on Wheels.

The winners of the decorated trees will be drawn Thursday, Dec. 14.

Darrell Lemieux, Silver Valley Meals on Wheels program director, said the fundraiser is a major source of funding for the organization over the course of the year. 

“At the courthouse, each department will do their own tree and they’ll try and outdo each other. They put them in the center of the courthouse as you come in, and it’s pretty the way they do it," Lemieux said. "They try and outbid each other, and all that money comes here and helps with the food costs."  

Federal and state assistance has shifted away from programs such as Silver Valley Seniors Meals on Wheels and out of necessity, the program has become community-funded. The Area Agency on Aging also has also helped buoy the program, but they still have to fundraise what they can to carry them through the year.

Lemieux has worked with similar meals programs in other areas prior to returning home to Shoshone County and said there used to be more helpful food like cheeses or proteins to supplement ingredients for meals.

“We survive, we do okay, but we always are looking for ways to put a little money away for whatever may go wrong so we have that banked up,” Lemieux said.

The Silver Valley program feeds 90 people daily at the Senior Center at 726 E Mullan Ave., Osburn, but there are also four other locations in Mullan, Kellogg, Pinehurst and Rose Lake that have between 10 and 25 people fed, as well. 

Four drivers divide up the deliveries and Lemieux, another cook, a baker and an office administrator make sure individuals are being fed. All are paid positions, which he said also represents a shift from the volunteer-driven programs of the past. 

“It’s a pretty small crew for the amount of food that we put out,” Lemieux said. 

That small team may make the meal magic happen, but they’re now appealing to the community to help them reach their goals to power their funding for food and van upkeep for 2024.

“This is really a good community when it comes to supporting your elderly. Things are tough everywhere, but we’re blessed. The community does support us and a lot of people who don’t really have anything still bring things. It’s amazing,” Lemieux said. 

To make a monetary donation, all donations to the Shoshone County Meals on Wheels program can be made in person at 726 E. Mullan Ave., Osburn, or by mail to P.O. Box 887, Osburn, ID 83849.

For information on any of the outreach opportunities, contact the Silver Valley Seniors Meals on Wheels Program at 208-752-1194.    Darrell Lemieux coordinates the the Silver Valley Meals on Wheels program.