More than 30 years ago, in a corner of Charlotte, some people took notice when a few neighbors came home from the hospital to recuperate.
Some of these people had no kin in town. They lived alone. And
after their hospital stays, they were too weak to cook for themselves. No
one was looking in on them every day.
And no one was delivering them food regularly. In fact, neighbors discovered that there was no agency in Charlotte that would deliver meals to these neighbors as they healed.
From this small beginning began today's Friendship Trays, which delivers more than 700 meals weekdays to infirm, elderly and homebound neighbors throughout Charlotte, Matthews and portions of Mecklenburg County.
The founders never considered in 1976 that their organization would be providing an essential community service in 2006 and beyond. They sought to serve an immediate, pressing need.
That need still presses on us all. But in the intervening years the people of Friendship Trays have come to understand that the need