It might sound unusual for a human resource agency to be the first place you think of when you need a caterer for your upcoming event. However, given the dedication and work ethic of South Central Human Resource Agency’s Nutrition Services staff, it should come as no surprise that they have become precisely that. SCHRA is honored to be chosen by Elk Valley Times readers as Lincoln County’s Finest in the Catering category for 2023.

SCHRA’s Nutrition Services Program provides meals year-round for senior nutrition programs such as Meals on Wheels and congregate meals at area senior centers. These meal programs are often minimally funded, and the need for them is constantly growing. Over the years the agency found itself looking for ways to supplement state grants in order to fill the gaps in funding to maintain kitchen equipment and provide meals for as many clients as possible.

This need for additional funds is where the idea for the Catering Program was born. Catering dollars pay for the cost of food, utility maintenance, and the labor cost of each job. The remaining money goes directly to the Nutrition Services Program. “About 17 years ago, I was asked to come in and help start up a catering program here, and I’ve been here ever since,” said Nutrition Services Director Becky Christa. She has since progressed from heading up catering to directing all meal services provided by SCHRA. “I may not be the Catering Coordinator anymore, but it’s still my baby,” Christa added.

With a background in meal service and catering, Christa has passed on her knowledge of the industry to staff throughout her years at SCHRA, including current Catering Coordinator Ashley Roland. Roland has been with SCHRA for going on 10 years now and has spent much of her time with the agency in the kitchen and working catering events, as well as managing data for Nutrition Services. Ella Brown started working with the catering program in 2019, and she became an invaluable asset as well. “A lot of the times it was just Ashley and Ella at events,” Christa remarked. More recently, the program welcomed Patty Moore and Mary Burton to their regular staff. Longtime Nutrition Services staff members Becky Patterson and Dianne Edwards often assist in preparing meals for events, in addition to their normal daily food preparation for senior meals.

“It’s usually just two of us that work events, but we pull in other people as needed, depending on how big of an event we are catering,” said Roland. Sometimes others working with Nutrition Services come in to help, such as the program’s office manager, Lea Richardson, and other times staff from other SCHRA programs volunteer to lend a hand transporting and serving food and drinks. Even the agency’s Deputy Director, Sara Brown, is known to have worked on quite a few events over the years.

SCHRA offers a wide range of options in terms of catering services. Since the program began, SCHRA has catered events in settings ranging from Huntsville, Alabama, to Nashville and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Events are often catered at the client’s venue, but the conference room at SCHRA’s central office location is available for clients looking for a location to rent. For smaller events or occasions, meals may be prepared and picked up at the central office or staff may come to a local venue and set up food and drinks for events that don’t require servers on hand.

When asked about the variety of items available to be served, Christa said, “We used to have more of a set menu, but these days we can fix pretty much whatever someone wants—as long as we have time to plan it!” Staff are prepared to serve everything from finger foods and light refreshments to a full-scale formal dinner with dessert for functions ranging from a small family gathering to a wedding with 400 or more guests. Holidays and the summer wedding season are often their busiest times of the year, so clients have the best luck securing their booking by contacting program staff as early as possible.

Clients interested in SCHRA catering services may call Ashley Roland at 931-433-7182 ext. 1145 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information. Menu consultation and pricing are available upon request. You may also contact Patty Moore at 931-433-7182 ext. 1149 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Pictured (L-R): Ashley Roland, Mary Burton, Patty Moore, and Becky Christa

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The South Central Human Resource Agency Senior Nutrition program is a huge daily undertaking during normal times.  We have 20 sites across the 13 county region that serve or deliver a hot meal five days a week; typically feeding on average 6100 meals a month through the congregant program and 9000 meals delivered each month.   In addition to the amazing kitchen staffs in both Fayetteville and Hohenwald who prepare the food we also have great site managers that take that food and get it ready for the seniors that come and eat at the site as well as the meals that are to be delivered.  Finally, we have our dedicated, irreplaceable volunteers, many who are seniors themselves, who give their time to deliver those meals to our home bound clients.  Now, add COVID-19 and our world, as well as our clients has been turned upside down.   Specifically for our volunteers, the new socialization rules were going to have the possibility of being an issue during this time.  We have a number who are considered at risk themselves and their health and keeping them safe was a top concern.  The importance of this program cannot be understated.  There have been many studies done showing the importance of regular human contact and connections, as well as having access to at least one nutritional meal a day.  Each of our 20 sites normally offers both of these 5 days a week.  For those that come to the congregant sites, being able to see friends daily is an important part of staying healthy.  For our home bounds clients, sometimes our meal delivery is the only contact they have with someone else daily. 

Needless to say, when the state went into shutdown mode, making sure that our senior clients continued to get their meals was at the top of our priority list.  We have a number of our home bound clients who are reliant on the SCHRA food program for their daily meals so not continuing was not going to be an option.  Number two on the priority list was the safety of our staff and volunteers in continuing to fulfill this important job.  Our last site shut its doors on March 20^th  for congregant meals. Those who had previously been coming to the sites to eat were given the option of being added to the delivery list or coming to the sites to pick up their meals each day.  While it was not our first choice, in order to keep everyone safe, we began delivering frozen meals to those who normally received hot meals that were to be reheated at home; with the plan to figure out how to resume safe delivery of a hot meal as quickly as possible.  During the month of April we tried to deliver hot meals but did not always have the volunteers available to get those meals where they needed to be in a timely manner and had to return to the frozen meals.  With the help of our staff as well as site managers and the numerous volunteers who stepped in from the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability (TCAD), on May 4^th we were able to return to the normal hot meals for our clients.  This would not have been possible without the cooperation from TCAD and we are incredibly grateful for their help.

In the month of March, we served and delivered approximately 16,000 meals.  In April we delivered 11,052 meals and in May we delivered 14,477 meals.  Right now we do not have a date for being able to resume congregant meals on site however any senior that would qualify to have a meal at a site can sign up to have a meal delivered or come to the site to pick up a meal each day.  We have a drive through congregant program active at each site. 

We are still looking for additional volunteers to deliver meals so if you or anyone you know might be interested in helping out the seniors in their community, please contact Becky Christa at 931-433-7182, ext. 1138.

Ruby, site manager for the Lincoln County Meal site, readies the lunches that are to go out.