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Wisconsin Unit 94’s Tuesday lunches brings together elderly area residents who might not otherwise have much contact with others.

When the American Legion Auxiliary unit in a small northeastern Wisconsin city learned that one of the two weekly meals provided to area senior citizens had been cancelled last December, in less than a month the unit made sure those residents impacted had somewhere else to turn.

Starting last January, Unit 94 in the small community of Crandon began serving weekly lunches on Tuesdays. Over that span, the unit has provided 750 meals, with most recipients in their 80s and 90s.

“(Forest County) provided the seniors with two lunches a week, and it cost the seniors $5 a lunch. They had to call ahead of time to register,” Unit 94 President Orpha Paciorek said. “In December, during budget cuts, they cut a meal.”

A Unit 94 member came to Paciorek the following January to ask if the unit would step in and provide that missing meal. “I was asked on Monday, and we did a lunch on Tuesday. We had 12 people the first time, and it’s just doubled and grown since then. We just wanted to fill that need.”

Unit 94 doesn’t require anyone to call ahead to reserve a spot, nor does the unit charge for the meal. Initially, members of the unit funded the meal themselves, but some of those attending have begun providing a free-will donation, which has helped cover some of the costs for the food.

Attendees are waited on and served their food on real dishes. “We treat it like a restaurant,” Paciorek. “It’s not a buffet.”

Meals were originally served from noon to 1 p.m., but then a local school system provided a similar sponsored meal from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during Unit 94’s third week of the program. At the unit’s next meal, people began showing up at 11 a.m.  

“So now we go 11 to 1 for our meals. A lot of people come here at 10:30 and stay until 2 (p.m.),” Paciorek said. “And for some people, this is the only time they get interaction with another human being.”

And that, Paciorek said, is even more important than the nutritional values of the free meals. “It’s wonderful in here,” she said. “They’re laughing. They’re telling stories. One of our seniors said the gathering is more important than the meal.

“It’s the best day of the week. You leave this place with a happy heart – watching the seniors light up when they come in.”

As word grew about the weekly lunches, non-members of Post 94’s American Legion Family have stepped up to assist, including providing desserts for the meals.

“It’s really ignited the community,” Paciorek said. “And our unit’s really lucky because all of us have the same kind of heart. We want to give back. We’re all very community-active in a lot of different things. We just felt it’s a really good niche for us, and we felt it was a need that we could fill and be successful at.”

In March 2025, Paciorek said the unit was on the verge of closing because of its aging membership. The unit was down to seven members, but since then its efforts in the community have resulted in membership growing by 300 percent, including younger members.

“We’re very blessed. Our unit is absolutely wonderful,” she said. “We’re a small group, but this is really a great thing to do. I would recommend it to anyone.”