Lincoln County Senior Meals to offer services in February

DAVENPORT – As coronavirus restrictions continue to limit social interactions for people throughout Washington State, a group of individuals in Davenport wants to make sure that seniors are not forgotten.

A new organization, Lincoln County Senior Meals, is organizing efforts to ensure that seniors throughout Lincoln County not only have hot meals, but also a chance for social connection despite virus concerns.

Carl Clark, the president of the Davenport Senior Center and project lead, wants to expand the current senior meal programs in Odessa, Reardan, Sprague, Wilbur and Davenport to include hot lunches 5 days a week. He also wants to develop opportunities for seniors to socially connect with others during the week.

“We want to help seniors learn how to have a group meeting on Zoom or Facebook as well as doing in-person meal deliveries,” Clark said. “Our programs will not be a charity. It will be a service to our seniors to let them know that the are being included and that they are part of the community.”

Meal quality a priority

The need for a county-based senior lunch option has become important during the coronavirus,as seniors are unable to gather for lunch. Senior lunch is now only a meal that a senior enjoys at home, but it is often in isolation.

With this in mind, Clark, a retired master chef, said ensuring the meal is of good quality and delivered while still hot is important.

“A number of our senior centers were contracting with Okanogan County Transportation and Nutrition and by the time the meals got to the seniors, they had been sitting in a styrafoam container for an hour and a half or more. This meant there was a lot of cold food and condensation in the container. A styrafoam container also can’t be heated up safely in the microwave, which isn’t convenient,” Clark said.

In addition to being able to get hot meals to seniors sooner due to meals coming from local senior centers, Clark also aims to use recycled cardboard containers that can be heated safely if needed.

Meals currently cost seniors $4.50 per meal. The total cost of the meal, including transportation and staffing, is between $8 to $10, with the difference underwritten by a combination of state reimbursement through the Aging and Adult Care program as well as county funds and grants.

Clark said the program will be sponsored by the Davenport Senior Center and hopes to be up and running by February. Creating a better service with more options is important to ensuring seniors are not forgotten, Clark said.

“There are lots of people right now who are very isolated in their homes. When you talk to them and say ‘see you tomorrow’, their response is often ‘if I wake up tomorrow.’ It’s very sad and we need to recognize their need to know they matter,” Clark said. “Before the virus, we had pinochle games and quilting clubs and ways to congregate. It’s our responsibility to bring that back.”

For more information or to volunteer, contact Clark at the Davenport Senior Center at 725-7055.