6-7-20 Care and Nutrition Update for Wright County Seniors

Dear Friends and Partners,

This is the June 7th update of Wright County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for seniors (60+).  We are starting our 12th week of response to COVID-19.  Wright County Community Action (WCCA) has a support line for seniors; please encourage seniors to call (320) 963-6500 Ext. 274.  As a community, we want to help with our most vulnerable neighbors’ challenges, including isolation and the impact that results, assistance with grocery access through education, grocery delivery, senior mobile food shelf needs, access to local Meals-on Wheels, alternative emergency frozen meal support, prescription access, and other needs and logistical issues as they present.

As of June 4th, we have 339 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wright County with 37 hospitalized.  Again, to the credit of our seniors (60+) and your community engagement to support their safety, based on local data we remain at only 20% of the cases confirmed in Wright County involving seniors 60+.  For perspective, there are over 40% of the Wright County confirmed cases, or stated another way twice the number of cases, in the age range of 40 to 59 than currently in our senior population 60+.  From an outcomes and recovery perspective, I think this is great news. 

We have now had 2 laboratory confirmed deaths in Wright County.  Likely exposure currently is calculated to be at least 31% community spread with 33% unknown (Wright County Public Health – COVID-19 Daily Situational Update). These are numbers to watch when considering the protection for our senior population.  At a peak in mid-April over 85% of the deaths from COVID-19 in the United States were from seniors 60+.

 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#AgeAndSex

In the month of May our Care and Nutrition Partnership in Wright County serving seniors 60+ delivered 9,925 frozen meals (this does not include the meals delivered by local Meals-on-Wheels).  In addition to their ongoing and regular catering business, Waverly Café produced 1,924 delicious meals this week alone for our partnerships senior frozen meal program.  Home cooked meals like Meatloaf, Roast Beef, Turkey Pot Pie, Chicken Parmesan, Turkey Wild Rice Hot Dish, and Salisbury Steak.  Currently our 10 meal pack also includes a Cargill breakfast bonus pack of French Toast and a Tortilla Omelet. 

Where are our frozen meals coming from?  Who has produced our frozen meals since the start of the pandemic?


Meal Producer

Catholic Charities*

Waverly Café

IDA Foods (Airline Vendor)

Total

March 23-31

4,990

 

 

4,990

April

16,636

 

 

16,636

May

6,780

2,909

1,090

10,779

June

1,870

10,000**

 

11,890

* Partially funded by Central MN Council on Aging

** Estimated Waverly Café Production for June based on current production levels

These numbers do not include meals produced for local Meals-on-Wheels

We are producing and procuring meals as efficiently as we know how.  While we are still working on final meal cost production projections, during this crisis and with these efficiencies we believe our meal cost is below $4 per frozen meal produced at Waverly Café.  Our current meal cost efficiencies include:

1.      Leveraging the ingenuity and generosity of Waverly Café including their catering expertise, PPP loan, and facilities

2.       Local Business, School, Church, and Food Shelf freezer and refrigeration storage:

a.       J&B Group in St. Michael

b.       Buffalo Crossings property in Buffalo

c.       Humphrey Elementary in Waverly

d.       Alleluia Lutheran Church, Our Fathers Lutheran, and St. Mary’s Catholic Church

e.       Delano Senior Center

f.        Annandale Food Shelf, Monticello Food Shelf, and WCCA Food Shelf in Waverly

3.       Bulk Food Support from the 2nd Harvest Foodbank and Cargill

4.       Local Food Security Donations from individuals, our faith-based community, and Lions Clubs

5.       Initiative Foundation, Delano Loretto Area United Way and Wright County Area United Way Donations

6.       And finally raw food donations including this week’s highlight from Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm

This week we are still learning how to best use local freezer space to reduce costs.  We are learning how to procure bulk frozen protein through 2nd Harvest which will greatly reduce the cost of frozen meals. 

Gains this week include a $2,000 donation to the Monticello Help Center from the Monticello Lions in support for a new walk-in freezer in Monticello.  This freezer will not only support the ongoing needs in Monticello food security, but will also help support our capacity to store and deliver local senior frozen meals in Monticello.  Also, the Loretto Lions generously contributed $2,000 to the Delano Loretto Area United Way to support our frozen meal partnership.  Another very generous donation came from Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm in Waverly.  Untiedt’s graciously donated up to 43 cases of #2 zucchini. J  The plan this week is to use the zucchini as a delicious and nutritious vegetable side for the baked ziti being prepared next week.

Megan Untiedt of Untiedt’s Vegetable Farms

With the growing season coming on, we hope that other high volume local farmers will contribute also to our Senior Care and Nutrition Partnership.  I really feel like there are so many opportunities for the community to come together to protect our seniors.  People are really stepping up for this need.  Please share this email with folks you know who might can help.  With regard to fresh vegetable and fruit donation, it is our plan to share excess local produce contributed with friends, partners, and other community food security support channels.  This week we were able to share this generous gift from Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm with the following recipients:

  1. Waverly Café (senior frozen meal support)
  2. Annandale Food Shelf (local food security)
  3. Buffalo Food Shelf (local food security)
  4. WCCA Food Shelf in Waverly (local food security)
  5. Our Father’s Lutheran (local food security)
  6. Catholic Charities (senior frozen meal support)

Going forward we hope to expand this list of local food security recipients that could use fresh vegetables when they become available. If you are serving local individuals at no cost and would like to be included in this potential fresh vegetable distribution opportunity please email me a cell phone number to text.  When an opportunity arises, a rapid response will be needed.  Base on a first come first serve distribution and availability Wright County Community Action will do our best to share these resources as they come in and deliver them to partner locations while supporting senior frozen meal production costs.

     
Untiedt’s zucchini distribution

Our Father’s Lutheran food security team    

    
 Maple Lake Catholic Charities Staff             
Annandale Food Shelf Volunteer

Chef Fletcher, just one year old, is also hard at work for our seniors.  Today, he is using his vegetable cutting prowess to support our efforts.  

   Visiting Chef Fletcher

 This week we also received notification of $15,000 in funding support from the Mardag Foundation.  This resource comes at a good time when many of our seniors are feeling isolated.  This funding was given to support Wright County Community Action’s efforts to expand in the county one-on-one senior socialization engagement through our budding B.R.E.A.D project (Book Reading Encouragement and Discovery).  If your organization, or one you know of, is specifically interested in this initiative, please share this email and please let others know to email me about their interest.

 Another blessing this week is news about funding to be received to support a delivery vehicle and freezer trailer from the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Transportation Grant.  This funding will be used to purchase both a delivery vehicle and freezer trailer to support local food security efforts in addition to expansion of the senior nutrition through frozen meal and frozen bulk food transport.

 Lastly another bit of exceptional news is the fact that CMCOA received $100,000 in Disaster Funding from MN Council on Foundations to be distributed to sub-award organizations serving older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in their 14 county regions.  Awards will be from $1,000 up to $10,000 per applicant.  We will make application on behalf of this partnership.  This is great news for our region.

We have been actively looking for creative ways to reach out to all our seniors and at the same time meet the demand for services created by the fear and confusion of this pandemic.  While pandemics don’t come with instructions and you have to learn fast, our process and the relentless determination of partners and staff seem to be making a difference while reaching some of our most at risk 60+ that, without more attention, will likely have to enter nursing facilities sooner than later-  not a good thing particularly during this pandemic.

The filtering demand system we have instituted basically uses frozen meals as a soft bridge to sift through our seniors in the most difficult situations allowing us to target and retro fit a variety of services based on direct contact and weekly follow-up with vulnerable seniors in the identification and/or needs assessment process.   Identified needs include, seniors struggling with isolation and the impact that results, assistance with grocery access, grocery delivery challenges and logistics, senior mobile food shelf needs, local senior meal program education, frozen meal support, and prescription access to mention a few.  We are certainly looking for ways to extend time at home for our seniors.  

While local Meals-on-Wheels (MOW) service are not readily available in every community in Wright County, in order to stretch resources as far as we can and to stabilize nutrition access for our most vulnerable, it is our goal to refer seniors to their local MOW program when it makes sense for them.  MOW is a wonderful program, well designed to support the ongoing needs especially after this crisis is past.  Even when available, we have found MOW does not seem to be the solution for every senior.  Recently MOW, provided by Catholic Charities and partially funded by Title III CMCOA, was expanded in the Delano market and I am happy to report that it is anticipated that 75 of the seniors completing our nutrition application are moving over to the Delano MOW program.  This is great news!  

To date we have received a total of 406 Delano area nutrition applications, so as you can imagine we continue to see unmet need in that market place.  On Monday we are scheduled to deliver 140 meals to individuals not on the Delano MOW program.   As it turns out, I think this crisis and filtering process will introduce even more individuals to important services like MOW.   As a front line partnership, during this pandemic, we have learned so much more about the needs in our community and how to engage the community, particularly our seniors.  I think creative partnerships and leveraging local people will make the limited funding stretch as far it can go, in a situation where an emergency response for seniors in crisis is needed.

If you’d like to help expand this resource to our seniors expressly on Highway 12, please consider donating to the COVID-19 Fund at the Delano Loretto Area United Way:

  1. Write a check to:  Delano Loretto Area United Way

In the memo line, write: “COVID-19 Food.”

Mail to:          P.O. Box 578

                        Delano, MN  55328

  1. Or visit the Delano Loretto Area United Way Website (type “COVID-19 Food”  in the box) http://www.delanolorettouw.org/ and donate via credit card or PayPal 

If you want to target expansion of frozen meal delivery in other parts of Wright County including the Highway 55 corridor and I-94 corridor, please consider donating to the COVID-19 Food Fund at Wright County Community Action:

  1. Write a check to:  Wright County Community Action

In the memo line, write: “COVID-19 Food.”

Mail to:          P.O. Box 787

                        Maple Lake, MN  55358

  1. Or visit the Wright County Community Action Agency Website (dedicate to:  “COVID-19 Food”)  https://www.wccaweb.com

The entire community of Wright County is in this together!

 Thankful,

 

Jay Weatherford

WCCA Executive Director

 

Information for Wright County senior support services:

https://www.wccaweb.com/Home/Index  (click current programs)

or

email:  agingservices@wccaweb.com

or

call:

  • (320) 963-6500 Ext 274 – Aging Program Manager - Eric Nagel
  • (320) 963-6500 Ext 241 – Dispatch
  • 1-800-333-2433 – Senior LinkAge Line
  • Delivered Frozen Meal Program(s) – WCCA at (320) 963-6500 Ext 274  or Catholic Charities Meals on Wheels program located in Maple Lake: (320) 963-5771,  Annandale:  (320) 274-3891  and Buffalo:  (763) 682-6036     

To volunteer:

Contact (320) 963-6500 Ext. 225 –– Jen Liebeck jliebeck@wccaweb.com

Or enroll on Website: https://www.wccaweb.com/Home/Volunteer



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