Eric Caldwell and Michael Wise, adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution, joins a prison choir in providing music during a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)
For another holiday season event, seniors from Malheur County went to prison for lunch.
And adults in custody wearing Santa hats were the servers on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Snake River Correctional Facility in Ontario.
About 70 seniors gathered at decorated tables in the prison’s minimum-security lunchroom.
Servers hustled about, ensuring no one was short of rolls, water or coffee. That was followed by plates heaped with turkey, dressing and beans.
The event started in 2007, a collaboration between the Ontario prison and the Malheur Council on Aging and Community Services. The meal was disrupted by the pandemic but returned to the prison last year. Planning started in October for this year’s event.
An inmate club, Opening Minds of the Communities Club, raised the roughly $600 to cover costs of the food.
Anthony Isiordia, club president from Salem, said the group formed in July 2023.
“We wanted to offer people the opportunity to help not just within the walls but in the community,” Isiordia said.
The seniors had plenty of company as prison workers joined the festivities. All had the chance for photos with characters played by prison staff – Santa (Mike Vokral), Mrs. Claus (Cathleen Vokral), Frosty (Vicky Brown) and The Grinch (Mark Peterson). Even Superintendent Jamie Miller mugged with Frosty before welcoming the diners.
Tom Longoria, senior program manager for the Malheur Council on Aging, lauded the partnership between the council and the prison. He said 16,921 meals had been prepared for Malheur County seniors in the past year.
To round out the meal, diners were treated to holiday tunes.
Nineteen adults in custody volunteered for an ad hoc choir, joined by prison staff who regularly perform with their own choir.
The servers are all volunteers.
“It’s nice to see the humanity,” said one adult in custody.
Adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution prepare a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Lawrence Williams and Charles Johnson, adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution, chat with Santa (played by Mike Vokral) as they wait to serve a holiday meal to seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Peter Vanderoord of Ontario visits with the Grinch during a holiday meal put on by adults in custody at staff at Snake River Correctional Institution on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Preston Neely, an adult in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution, waits to serve a holiday meal to seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution prepare rolls to serve to seniors invited in from the community for a holiday meal on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution prepare a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Madison Bell and Santa (played by Mike Vokral) pose during a holiday meal at Snake River Correctional Institution for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. Bell and Vokral are prison employees. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Tom Longoria, Malheur Council on Aging and Community Services senior programs manager, shares details about the partnership between the council and Snake River Correctional Institution to prepare meals for area seniors. He addresses the crowd during the annual holiday meal for seniors at the Ontario prison on Thursday, Dec. 5. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Jamie Miller, superintendent of Snake River Correctional Institution, visits with Frosty during a holiday meal for area seniors put on by adults in custody at staff at Snake River Correctional Institution on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. Vicky Brown of the prison staff played Frosty. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Santa (played by Mike Vokral) sits for a photo with a guest at the holiday meal at Snake River Correctional Institution for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution prepare a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Adults in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution provide music during a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)A choir of staff at Snake River Correctional Institution provide music during a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Andrew Stewart, an adult in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution, joins a prison choir in providing music during a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Adults in custody and staff at Snake River Correctional Institution provide music during a holiday meal for seniors invited in from the community on Thursday, Dec. 5. A prison club raised money to pay for the food. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)
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