Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

HANNIBAL, MO. -- Mark Twain is credited with saying, “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” In Mark Twain's hometown Monday, golf meant food on the table for senior citizens who can't afford a good, hot meal.

The Hannibal Nutrition Center sponsored its 4^th annual golf outing to benefit the meals on wheels program. All the money raised—an estimated $7000—goes strictly to buy food.

“Gas is high, food costs are high, electric and water rates have risen. We have to pay those bills, just like everyone else,” HNC Administrator Debbie Catlett said. “What this money does is allow us to put food on the table for seniors, and that's what our program is all about.”

Catlett explains that it costs $84 a month to provide home-delivered meals to a senior. This golf outing alone will cover the costs of meals for about 84 seniors for one month. While that's not a bad take for a day on the golf course, it's a drop in the bucket when you consider the HNC home-delivers nearly 8,000 meals a month. That makes the center the largest provider of meals in all of northeast Missouri.

At a time when seniors are often faced with the choice of buying life-saving medications or food, this service is huge. Just as important—the home-delivered meals often mean that a senior can live at home.

“Our purpose is to keep seniors in their homes, and at the end of the day, that's where we all want to be,” Catlett said.