Senior meals down to 2 days

As previously reported in The Odessa Record, Odessa’s town council was informed at their December 12 meeting of cutbacks to the senior meals program. Since 2008 meals have been provided three days per week at Old Town Hall. Beginning in January, these meals have been reduced to two days a week.

The senior meals program is administered by Okanogan County Transportation and Nutrition (OCTN), which is a private non-profit company that provides nutritionally balanced meals throughout Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas and Lincoln Counties, as well as other services.

According to a December 6, 2011 letter from OCTN Executive Director Leanne Whitener, service level reductions would be necessary across the 4 counties, due to funding levels being either reduced or remaining level, and due to increased costs.

The letter also cited statistics which led the organization to reduce meal availability in Odessa to 2 days a week. According to Whitener, the average attendance at an Old Town Hall lunch is 4, with an additional 7 meals delivered to seniors’ homes.

A number of factors appear to have contributed to declining participation in Odessa, including death, illness and moving to residential care facilities.

Maria Nelson, who is the current coordinator for the senior meals in Odessa, says that attendance tends to remain level, as do the home-delivered meals, except one day per month when the Primetimers organization takes advantage of the meal site to hold their monthly meeting.

Nelson is employed by OCTN for 3 1/2 hours per day for the two days per week that she is on site. She is responsible for selecting menu items, ordering supplies, meal preparation, home delivery, serving and cleaning up after the meals.

Nelson receives a list of menu options from OCTN each month. She selects the options she would like to serve, and then a nutritionist reviews the selections to ensure they meet guidelines. After she obtains approval from OCTN, she is responsible for ordering any supplies needed, usually from Food Services of America, which delivers to Odessa. Perishable items such as salad and dairy products are purchased locally.

An informal survey distributed at the February 3 meal returned the following information:

Of the thirteen people attending, six said that they attended every (or nearly every) meal. Two people said they attended once per week, and four said they attended once per month or only on special occasions.

Ages of the respondents ranged from 60 to 82, with 4 males and 7 females. One person did not include age or gender.

Ten people said that good, nutritious meals were important, and eight indicated that the social aspect of the meals was more important to them.

Comments ranged from “Meals are well balanced” to “Would be nice if more eligible people would take advantage of this service.”

Whitener says that OCTN provided 117,236 meals in 2011, which was a 9% increase over 2010. Congregate meals are served in 18 communities, including five Lincoln County towns; Davenport, Harrington, Odessa, Sprague and Wilbur. One other community is able to offer a “Senior’s Choice” program, where vouchers for lunch may be presented at designated local restaurants.

According to Whitener, attendance at senior meals is particularly down in Odessa, where the number of home delivered meals is also substantial. She says she is aware that Odessa’s program has been hit particularly hard by deaths and removals to residential care facilities.

The average cost of providing a meal is $7.50, according to Whitener. That cost is partially offset by donations at the meal sites, which average $2.95 per meal. The majority of funding is received from Aging and Adult Care of Central Washington (AACCW), which in turn receives funding from federal, state and local governments.

AACCW is one of about 650 “area agencies on aging” formed after the Older Americans Act was passed by Congress in 1965. The Act was amended in the 1970s to include a nutrition program for seniors.

Each meal served is required to provide 3 ounces of protein, 2 vegetables, 1 fruit, 2 “fiber” servings, such as whole-grain bread, and 1 dessert. The meals are designed to provide at least 1/3 of current Recommended Dietary Allowances set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council.

Whitener says that after Odessa, the next-lowest attendance site has an average attendance of 12 to 15 per meal. “Attendance levels are critical to the services we can provide,” she added. When attendance goes down, the average cost per meal can rise to $11.00 or more, according to Whitener. Odessa’s program is the only one that has had to be reduced due to lack of use.

Odessa’s senior meal program is open to everyone. The requested donation for those age 60 and older is $3.25 per meal, although the ability to pay is not a prerequisite for attendance. Individuals under the age of 60 are welcome, but will be charged the full cost of the meal, $7.50.

Reservations are not required in Odessa, but if you are not a regular attendee, it is recommended that you call the Odessa Old Town Hall Senior Center at 982-2654 on the morning you plan to attend, to ensure adequate meals are prepared.

Whitener suggested that seniors currently living in residential care facilities might benefit from an occasional meal out, benefitting from the social aspect of the program.

According to the OCTN website at http://www.octn.org, “Donations from the public are needed and encouraged to help provide the match required by our grants. These donations are tax deductible.” Donations to support the program may be sent to Okanogan County Transportation & Nutrition, P. O. Box 711, Omak, WA 98841.

It is unclear just why the Odessa program is so underutilized. As in most smaller rural communities, a substantial portion of the population is eligible to participate. What is clear is that a service intended to improve the lot of seniors in Odessa is in danger of being further reduced.