For refugee seniors, a taste of home
Plus: Top news of the week — Interim CMS superintendent quits — Democrats retain control of county commission — CMS drafts new school boundaries — Theater closes at Arboretum
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Refugee seniors find sustenance from a meals-on-wheels-type program attuned to their dietary and cultural needs; with government funding set to expire in 2023, concerns emerge about how program will continue
Volunteer Rashmi Bhatt makes roti, a flatbread, that will be distributed to refugee seniors. (Photo by Palmer Magri/Queens University News Service)
by Simone Feast and Palmer Magri, Queens University News Service
The path to the Hindu Center of Charlotte takes visitors through a neighborhood of red brick ranch houses built in the 1960s, just off Idlewild Road in east Charlotte. On every weekday at a center for seniors a couple of blocks away, volunteers prepare more than 140 meals for refugees who have trouble adjusting to American pork chops and potato salad.
Standing at the back of the center, Nimish Bhatt greets two college journalists. “My daughters! Welcome!” he says.
Bhatt leads a team of volunteers who help refugees and seniors adjust to life in the United States. The center, known officially as the Universal Institute for Successful Aging of Carolinas, provides temporary housing; navigational services for refugees; educational programs for youth, seniors and women and the distribution of food and fellowship for seniors. Covid lockdowns in March 2020 accelerated the center’s need for food distribution, and the program has continued at this level since then.
Meals for refugees: On a recent Monday afternoon in October, volunteers prepared a lunch of Indian dishes including roti (flatbread), dal (lentil stew), basmati rice, aloo matar (potato and pea curry), mango semolina (mango puree) and an apple.
Bhatt explained that every meal contains protein, vegetables, fruit, two grains, and something sweet. “Our goal is to keep these for nutrition and other mental health needs of the seniors when they are alone at home,” he said. “Loneliness is the main issue for seniors being suicidal, anxiety and depression.” Volunteers encourage seniors to sit near the kitchen while meals are prepared. The spices remind them of home, elevate appetites, and help with depression.
The menu is not always Indian, often veering into Italian, African, Asian, and Latin American dishes. The vegetarian diet of most people supported by the center is rooted in fresh ingredients, homegrown vegetables, and ancient grains. A team of about eight people appear at the center at lunchtime, taking time off from their day jobs, to drive the meals to people’s homes and check on how seniors are doing.
Funding for meals comes from county and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations. Government funding will end in 2023 and Bhatt is concerned and focused on how to continue providing the services. The refugee meal service is smaller and more specific than Friendship Trays, which started in Charlotte in 1976 and merged with Loaves and Fishes in March 2021. Friendship Trays distributes meals to about 700 people of all ages, and also provides meals for people with doctor-prescribed diets.
Indoor and outdoor gardens: Gardens at the center also provide seniors with a purpose and help deal with depression, Bhatt said. The center has two indoor gardens consisting of 5-foot-tall plastic columns with pockets for basil, arugula, bibb lettuce, green onions and other herbs and greens. The columns enable seniors in wheelchairs to take care of the plants.
Outside the house, Bhatt provided a tour of a small garden filled with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, grown for inclusion in the daily meal distribution. Both gardens bring people together and teach them about growth and humanity, Bhatt said.
For people who experienced trauma, reminders of light: Bhatt knows firsthand the struggles faced by people uprooted from home and dropped into another culture. The volunteer staff frequently helps refugees from Southeast Asia and Africa, many of whom have never seen a western stove, upright toilet or shower.
Bhatt explained that the center serves as a reminder of goodness, humanity and light for people who have experienced high levels of trauma.
The center recognizes the importance of honoring the culture of the people it serves. During the week before the Hindu festival of Diwali, the center’s volunteer staff was preparing a meal tailored to the holiday. Almost 32,000 residents of Mecklenburg County were born in India, according to 2019 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Bhatt explained that before businesses began capitalizing on Diwali, it was a simple fall celebration of changing weather and harvest time, with new grains coming to market.
“It is more of the festivity of light over evilness,” Bhatt said. “The evilness is within everybody, like greed, lust and anger. All that we want to forget and to be in harmony with each other, sharing our best abilities we can.”
Simone Feast of Raleigh and Palmer Magri of Charlotte are students in the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte, which provides the news service in support of local community news.
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You might be interested in these Charlotte events
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Wednesday: Talent Jam Charlotte, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Heist Brewery and Barrel Arts, Charlotte. Part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, this unique high-energy, hyperlocal event connects local tech and creative talent with the startups and innovative companies that need them via alternating 60-second pitches followed by casual but impactful networking. $15 - $50.
Nov. 27: Party in the Park, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at The Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte. Enjoy the last Party in the Park of the season with self-guided activities that celebrate Native American Heritage Month, food trucks, live music and a cash bar, plus free museum admission and Museum Store Sunday. Free.
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This week in Charlotte: 3 incumbents unseated from school board; CATS pushes $90M underground bus station plans; Hornets unveil ‘CLT’ uniform
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
Draft plans for new high school boundaries: (Ledger 🔒) Sources tell us what the latest draft plans look like for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ efforts to draw new high school boundaries in south Charlotte. Big changes are coming in south Charlotte school assignment with a new high school opening in 2024 to relieve overcrowding at Ardrey Kell, South Mecklenburg and Myers Park high schools.
School calendar: (WFAE) The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved a calendar for the 2023-24 school year.
Interim CMS superintendent quits: (Observer) Interim Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh announced this week that he’s ending his stint early because of family issues. He’ll hang it up Dec. 31 — 6 months before his contract expires.
Politics
Newcomers to control school board: (Ledger) Voters elected five newcomers to the nine-member Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, which will soon be tasked with hiring a new superintendent and reversing dips in test scores, and Democrats retained their hold on the county commission, which included all seven incumbents who faced challengers.
$226M city bonds approved: (WFAE) Voters approved three bond referendums Tuesday that will allow Charlotte to borrow $146.2M for street improvements, $50M for affordable housing, and $29.8M for neighborhood improvements from investors.
Local news
Affordable housing shortfall: (Axios Charlotte) Eleven developers who received $23M from Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund to build nearly 900 affordable homes now say they need an additional $32M to finish the job because of rising construction costs and interest rates.
Arboretum movie theater closes: (Observer) The Regal Cinebarre movie theater at the Arboretum closed Thursday night, following last month’s closure of Regal’s theater at Phillips Place in SouthPark.
Business
Microsoft data centers: (Biz Journal) Microsoft plans to build four data centers in Catawba County, totaling $1B in investment over 10 years, the county’s economic development corporation said.
Spirit Airlines adds two flights: (Observer) Discount airline Spirit Airlines will offer two more flights from Charlotte Douglas International Airport this spring to Dallas-Fort Worth and Nashville.
Cantina’s tax bill: (Biz Journal, subscriber-only) The Internal Revenue Service says Quantum Development Charlotte, which is the parent company of Cantina 1511 restaurants, owes $978,000 in tax debts for the years 2016 to 2022.
Sports
New Hornets CLT uniform: (Axios Charlotte) The Charlotte Hornets unveiled their City Edition uniform that includes “CLT” across the chest for the first time. The team made a deal with AVIATE, which owns the CLT trademark.
More Panthers coaches fired: (Panthers) The Carolina Panthers fired cornerbacks coach Evan Cooper and defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni, following a 42-21 loss Sunday at the Cincinnati Bengals.
In memoriam: (WBTV) Coy Gibbs, son of NASCAR owner and NFL coach Joe Gibbs, died Saturday night in his sleep at age 49, Joe Gibbs Racing said Sunday.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
CMS esports begins: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools kicked off its varsity esports preseason last week with 12 CMS high school teams competing in Rocket League competitions on live stream platform Twitch.
Cotswold chicken rivalry: The Cotswold Chick-fil-A says it wants to buy the closed Bojangles lot to alleviate Chick-fil-A’s traffic congestion, but Bojangles said it’s remodeling and not selling the property, even though there have been no indications of remodeling for almost a year.
Credit union renamed: Charlotte Metro Credit Union was recently renamed “Skyla Credit Union,” which coincidentally is also the name of an intrauterine device (IUD) and a Pokémon character.
Wednesday (🔒)
AvidXchange eyes acquisitions: Since Charlotte fintech company AvidXchange went public over a year ago, the IPO market has dried up and the stock price of many tech companies like AvidXchange has sunk, but its CEO says the company has continued to grow and is looking to buy other companies.
Friday (🔒)
Rumblings of CMS bond projects: Community members are talking about two proposed projects on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools capital improvement plan list, which include changes involving Dilworth and Sedgefield elementary schools, and a proposed plan to turn Rama Road Elementary into a high school language magnet.
New podcast episode 🎧: Claire Schuch, director of planning services for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, sat down recently with The Ledger to talk about her background, the mission behind her department, how she approaches situations where she can’t make everyone happy and what’s ahead for school growth in south Charlotte.
Antisemitic marks found at Providence High: Antisemitic graffiti was found in a boys’ bathroom stall at Providence High School last week, according to a message sent to parents Monday by Principal Tracey Harrill, in which she said, “we do not condone anti-Semitic speech or hate speech of any kind” and asked parents to speak with their child about the situation to help with officials’ investigation.
Ways of Life (🔒)
After fitness instructor Arthur Pulley lost his 23-year-old son, Michael, last year from suicide, he started asking his clients “Are you talking to your kids?” and offering support to those who might be struggling.
CATS pushes for underground bus station: The Charlotte Area Transit System recommended a $90M project to the City Council’s transportation committee Monday to place the bus station underground as opposed to rebuilding the bus terminal at street level or putting it on a second or third floor.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project