Dear Friends and Partners,
This is the August 16th update of
Wright County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for Seniors (60+).
We are starting our 22nd 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, frozen meal support, prescription access, and
needs like housekeeping, chores, and other logistical issues as they present.
Wright County COVID-19 IMPACT
As
of August 13th we have 918 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wright County. This
measurement began March 13th of this year. 41 years of age is the
average of all confirmed cases. 91 is the oldest case and 3 months is the youngest case. 71 new confirmed cases since
last week down from 87. J Only 3 new cases over 70 years
of age. This week we are happy to see that the percentage of confirmed
cases in people age 70+ is down once again, at 7.73%, with an individual total
of 71 cases age 70+ since the
pandemic started. J
As of 8-13-20 Wright County Minnesota Coronavirus Confirmed Cases
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/52d559cfbe6e4ca39558c9b2f877e144
Please
share this story with your friends (including your senior friends)
and take time to call a senior to see how they are – it is important that they
hear from you!
Shout-out to Strategic Partners
J&B Group established in 1979
J&B Group today
In
the tradition of J&B Group, J&B has treated this effort, our
partnership, and community with great “respect”. J&B is
giving back in so many ways and just makes our partnership so much stronger.
J&B’s
early commitment to partner has given confidence to other important and
strategic partners who have added many additional resources to our successful
Partnership (see list below). J&B Group helped us thread a
needle in the development of this viable Senior Care and Nutrition Partnership
that would not be possible without their willingness to share their
resources: these resources include warehouse freezer space, excess
storage containers, and corporate ingenuity.
In addition
to sharing their own resources, ultimately J&B is effectively bringing more
reserves to our community because their warehouse freezer space allows the
Partnership to accept funding and in-kind support, based on fixed funder and
donor defined timelines and windows of support. Without this warehouse
freezer capacity, opportunities with fixed time limits would inevitably pass us
by because we would not have the space to adequately plan procurement
and store food. Currently we have the capacity to accept bulk protein at
no cost from Second Harvest, as well as store prepared meals purchased with
donor funds.
This pandemic
has not been predictable. The ability to purchase and store bulk prepared
meals has offered a critical contingency plan and solution to whatever comes
next in the COVID-19 Outbreak. We are now prepared even if distribution
channels are later adversely effected, even if the outbreak temporarily stops
the production capacity of the Waverly Café or Catholic Charities, or even if
members of our Partnership team are disrupted by COVID-19 or just life.
As many of you know, we have already seen some effect from COVID-19 and the challenges
that we face every day in life.
J&B’s
warehouse freezer is also allowing the feasibility for inventory fluctuations
in both production and distribution – It is simple science, one thing we can
always count on in a crisis involving food security; we will either
produce too many meals or not enough. J&B Group has
generously allowed us space to not just prepare for either scenario but to
remedy challenges that come up each week in fluctuating demand, leveling
production capacity, and not enough local freezer space. Without J&
B’s support, this partnership would not have the same reach and
ability to respond to whatever comes next.
In the face of this crisis, J&B Group has graciously
allowed us to leverage their resources to help highly-impacted seniors. The
ongoing bulk freezer storage as well as packaging and logistical
problem-solving support has been a huge blessing to WCCA and Wright County
seniors. J&B Group’s organizational culture “to make a difference” is
reflected in their strong community support and the team members we work with
on a weekly basis reflect that culture and passion. They are inspiring and
wonderful to work with!
-Tina Portz, WCCA
Volunteer and Consultant
In
the beginning was the tub…
The invention of the “box”. Joel getting his point
across! Good point Joel...
Thanks
to J&B Group we have the “right” box!
Leveraging
their excess packaging and the ingenuity of their packaging experience, J&B
helped us truly streamline our local inventory process by simplifying our
systems and shaving thousands of dollars in labor alone off of our production,
packing, and distribution cost of frozen meals.
The new boxes are amazing! The uniformity has made packing,
storing and moving a breeze. At a glance we can see what and how many we
have! We are all thankful for lighter boxes with handles, also!
-Kelly
Mayville, WCCA Head Start Nutrition Specialist and Senior Frozen Meal
Coordinator
Kelly Mayville Testing the new box from J&B
J&B Group’s part of our story is huge and is greatly
impacting Senior Meal Delivery in Wright County during COVID-19. You guys are amazing!
Another
wonderful Partner - this week Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm has offered over
400 boxes and gunny sacks of vegetables including: cucumbers, green peppers,
yellow zucchini, green zucchini, new potatoes, sweet onions, eggplant, and
sweet corn.
Please let us
know if there are other food security partners that we are not reaching with
these vegetables. Please forward this email
to them.
If
you or a potential partner would like to help expand this resource to our
seniors expressly on Highway 12, please consider donating to the “COVID-19 Food” fund at the Delano Loretto
Area United Way:
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
Or
visit the Delano Loretto Area United Way Website http://www.delanolorettouw.org/ and click “Donate” -- donations via credit card or PayPal (click on “write a
note”, write “COVID-19 Food”)
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:
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
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! (see current partner
list below)
Ecstatic,
Jay
Weatherford
WCCA
Executive Director
For
more 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
New
Partner and First Time Reader Overview
Farmers: food shelfs and senior programs can use
your support. Please share this email with your Wright County
farmer friends potentially able to contribute, or other Food Security Partners
that could use this produce to support their efforts. For large
donations, WCCA will use its resources to make distributions happen.
Again, 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. Based 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.
Partner support
·
Second Harvest – free
and reduced cost bulk raw food products for frozen meal production.
·
Local Farmers –
Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm – contributing produce for senior meal support and
local food security needs.
·
Waverly Café - ingenuity
and giving spirit including their PPP loan directed at paying their staff to
produce senior meals, catering expertise, and use of their commercial kitchen.
·
Catholic Charities
partially funded by Central MN Council on Aging – frozen meals contribution and
Meals-on-Wheels referral partner.
·
Cargill – breakfast
meals.
·
J&B Group – bulk
warehouse freezer storage including bulk prepared meal storage and bulk raw
food storage; not to mention helping us resolve logistical issues, as well as
supplying a really great box with the outcome of providing so many solutions to
challenges we have faced in our production process.
·
Buffalo Crossings LLC,
owner of Oriental Buffet in Buffalo – commercial walk-in freezer, commercial
walk-in cooler, and commercial kitchen to pack and store senior meals.
·
Local Food Shelves -
local frozen meal and bulk food storage, as well as senior services
registration (Annandale Food Shelf, Buffalo Food Shelf, Monticello Help Center,
and Waverly Food Shelf).
·
Trailblazer – daily
volunteer based County-wide local meal delivery.
·
Delano Senior Center –
senior services application fulfillment and frozen meal distribution, as well
as Meals-on-Wheels referral partner.
·
Wright County Human
Services/Public Health – volunteer recruitment support, data support,
instructional materials design, and logistics support.
·
St. Cloud Refrigeration
– emergency air conditioning for the Waverly Café kitchen.
·
*NEW PARTNER – Electrical Workers Union, IBEW Local 292 – brought to the
partnership Olympia Tech Electric to support new electrical service needed at
Waverly Café
·
*NEW PARTNER – Olympia Tech Electric – installing new electrical services at
Waverly Café needed for additional freezer capacity
·
Local Lions Clubs –
local community freezer development and contributions to the cost of frozen
meals (Waverly, Montrose, Howard Lake, Maple Lake, Loretto, and Monticello).
·
Local Municipalities –
local freezer storage funding support (City of Waverly, City of Montrose, City
of Howard Lake).
·
Health Care Partners –
Allina Health (financial support)
·
Other Local Corporations
– Citizen State Bank of Waverly (freezer funding support) and Walgreens
(shopping bags).
·
Local Faith-based
organizations – many very giving churches for many years have been active in
financial support for food security across Wright County (too many to mention
them all – but you know who you are) . – in addition, Love INC, St Mary’s
Catholic Church, Alleluia Lutheran, Our Father’s Lutheran, St. John’s Lutheran,
North Ridge Fellowship Small Group and friends, Montrose United Methodist
Church have provide support for senior call center activity, B.R.E.A.D program
outreach, volunteer administrative services, food security, food preparation,
and meal and food storage - access and delivery.
·
Initiative Foundations,
Delano Loretto Area United Way, Wright County Area United Way, Mardag
Foundation, and St Paul and Minnesota Foundations including funding for
COVID-19 direct response, Catchafire membership, and B.R.E.A.D. program
funding.
·
State Live Well at Home
Funding and Federal Title III funding support administered by the Minnesota
Board on Aging and Central Minnesota Council on Aging.
·
Wholesale purchase of
recyclable meal trays.
·
Oliver Equipment Lease
for the required equipment to seal the senior meal trays.
·
AMI Group and IDA Foods
– access to airline meal vendors adding senior meal production capacity and
contingency support. This opportunity to purchase over stock of
first-class airline meals due to drop in air travel and our partners sharing
their relationships.
·
Tireless WCCA Staff
support from multiple programs working to braid any allowable resource to make
a difference for our seniors.
·
Countless community
volunteers - everything from administrative services support, logistics and
storage coordination, bulk food and materials transport, senior transportation,
local meal delivery, meal packing, senior call center activity, PPE production
and product support, volunteer coordination, food rescue, and so many more
details where you fill the gap (you too, know who you are – we are so
grateful for your courage and willingness to step forward to meet needs).
Call to Action
There is still much more opportunity for local
corporate and civic partners to get involved. It’s simple solutions like
packing meals in the Walgreens shopping bags or storing bulk meals or protein
on the warehouse freezer floor at J&B Group that have made all the
difference. Given the chance there are many incredible businesses that
have unique resources, relationships, buying power, and experience.
We really hope to find more corporate partners willing to leverage their earned
knowledge and distinctive talents to improve this support for our seniors
during the pandemic. Leveraging what they do best including their
marketing, buying power, and connections brings together powerful
partners. When we put our heads together, we dig up unique ways like
those mentioned briefly above. These often come from you readers. So please share this email with your
friend, neighbor, or corporate partner so that this story can be told, and those big thinkers out there
have the opportunity to step forward and do what they do best.
Its leaders like Waverly Café, J&B Group,
Cargill, St. Cloud Refrigeration, Buffalo Crossing, and Untiedt Vegetable Farm
that are showing us ways for other corporate partners to leverage their buying
power, innovation, and economy of scale that will most likely take this
delivery system to the next level. We need you thinkers to help refine
our process as a community, interested in protecting our most vulnerable
population by leveraging their lessons learned; those lessons that have brought
your businesses to the success they are today. Share this message with your friends: during the same years that many of your
companies were established and being built to thrive, the people we are
trying to protect were your customers. This might be a great
opportunity to now give back to the ones who supported you and help them
thrive.
We need to refine solutions in local communities
for freezer storage, access to bulk buying, shared and efficient transportation
opportunities, HR teams organizing volunteers to support local distribution in
their community, corporate giving through community investment and
matching. We need volunteered ingenuity from our bankers and other
corporate partners that can bring their experience to this effort to
shore up and produce a stronger, even more sustainable model than we have
today. It is partners with their buying power, innovation, and economy of
scale that are now needed to continue to refine our process. There is
still local ingenuity to leverage in this crisis seeking local solutions that
will only enhance, extend, and sustain the investment of the federal and state
agencies.
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