VIDALIA, La. — For Oma Brown, volunteering at the Concordia Council on Aging’s Vidalia lunch site is much like serving her own family, and her fellow volunteers are like relatives to her.

&uot;We’re just like a family here,&uot;&160;said Brown, 79, who has been attending the lunch program for 15 years and volunteering almost as long.

&uot;We all pitch in and help, and if someone can’t be here we fill in for them.&uot;

Brown helps serve lunch to 25 to 30 senior citizens each weekday at the site, which is located on Texas Avenue.

The council could actually stand for more people to participate in the program, she said.

And Brown, who retired from West Brothers in Vidalia, said the tasks she does at the lunch site don’t seem that much like work

&uot;I enjoy it, mostly because I&160;get to talk with all the people here,&uot;&160;Brown said. &uot;Everyone here is just so sweet.&uot;

Brown, who has lived in Vidalia ever since she was 5 years old, likes the idea of helping out people in her hometown.

And although a stroke she had in 1994 has slowed her down somewhat, she still enjoys having somewhere to go every day.

&uot;It gives me a reason to get dressed up and drive somewhere,&uot;&160;Brown said.

The council relies on donations and the help for many volunteers, including Brown, said Juanita Hutson, who has been manager of the lunch site for about three years now.

&uot;It’s necessary that we have volunteers,&uot;&160;Hutson said. &uot;They fill in when another person can’t be here, help set up parties when we have them — a little bit of everything.&uot;