For decades, the Melba Valley Senior Center has served up far more than just meals."It's fabulous. It's awesome. It fills a need for a lot of people. So what am I gonna do to make sure it keeps going?" one neighbor said.From mea ls and transportation services to bingo and fitness classes, leaders say the center plays a major role in the small rural town serving around 100 older neighbors each week while filling other community needs. WATCH: Senior center leaders on needed repairs This is home: Melba Valley Senior Center faces rising repair costs while serving 100+ neighbors weekly"The football team meets here, 4H meets here. FFA uses our kitchen," Michelle Martinez said, "A church meets here, um, so we feel this need because we don't have a lot of buildings in Melba."Neighbors like Amanda Bowe and Debbie Davis say the center feels like a second home.ALSO READ | Homedale neighbors say it's high time to reopen their senior center"This is home when you said home, yeah, -- this is our second home -- home," they said.Davis said the center's impact extends well beyond its regular programming."We hand out 45,000 pounds of food a month," Davis said."A community centers around food. That's where people gather, that's where the socialization happens," Davis said.But after 5 decades, the facility is starting to show its age."And then the kitchen's 50 years old, so things are dying," Martinez said.Leaders say the center now needs costly repairs and upgrades, including new railings, kitchen appliances, and a new water softener without the financial safety net other centers have."Other centers usually have the city gives them some money or takes care of their maintenance, takes care of upgrades and that. We don't have that," Martinez said.Despite the growing costs, staff and volunteers continue working to keep the doors open."I don't want people to stress that, oh my gosh, the center's going to close," Martinez said, "It's true when you look at that list of the things that we need, it's overwhelming, but you know you eat an elephant one bite at a time."The center is always welcoming donations and volunteers. Those interested can contact the Melba Valley Senior Center directly.For Canyon County happenings, news, and more join our Facebook Group: 2C Neighborhood News - Nampa, Caldwell, MiddletonThis story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less