9-20-20 Care and Nutrition Update for Wright County Seniors

Dear Friends and Partners,

 

This is the September 20^th update of Wright County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for Seniors (60+).  We are starting our 27^th 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 September 17^th we have 1,477 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wright County.  This measurement began March 13^th of this year.  Our oldest case is almost 100 years old, at 99 years, and three months is the youngest case in Wright County thus far.  71 new confirmed cases since last week which is down J from 107 last week and 162 the week before.  Only one new case again this week over 70 years of age since last week for a total of 92. J

 

  

   

 

September 17, 2020 Wright County confirmed case by Age       

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/52d559cfbe6e4ca39558c9b2f877e144

 

We hope you will share our information with your senior friends and family (60+).  Please share this story so that our seniors know a place to go if they want to confidently check into resources they may need  – also please call the seniors in your life, they appreciate hearing from you especially with the anxiety that might be a part of the their life as we battle COVID-19 together.

 

We have two new additions to our tool box.   This week we took delivery of both 11 ft. and 8 ft. freezer trailers that can pull temperatures down to negative 20 below zero and can also operate at refrigeration temperatures.   We want to thank, Rodney and Carrie at HWY 55 Trailer Sales of Buffalo for generously unloading the trailers and Paul Muckenhirn at New Directions Logistics, Inc. for all his work in getting the trailers shipped here.  Wright County has so many helpful and giving businesses.  These freezers will be used to support area Senior Frozen Meals and other prepared foods going to families during the pandemic.

 

     

 

The freezer trailer at the Waverly Café is really going to make a huge difference in local frozen meal production storage capacity, as well as saving a tremendous amount of labor, time, and resources in the transfer of frozen meals produced at the Café.   The Waverly Café typically produces about 350-500 frozen meals per day for our area seniors.  For months now, we have provided a daily pickup and transfer of these meals due to lack of local storage capacity at the Café. 

 

 

   

Joel makes friends easily.  This is Sarah Larson, Owner of Waverly Café

 

   

 

This freezer adds a lot of efficiency to our systems, freeing up personnel at both the Waverly Café and the Care and Nutrition Partnership.  The labor cost alone for both the production process and product transfer can quickly pay for this investment allowing resources supporting this initiative to go even further to benefit our seniors. 

 

Another important bonus to this new freezer transport is the part it will play in the efficient rotation of frozen meal inventory stored now in partnership with J&B Group in St. Michael.  Because of the generous support from J&B Group and the delivery of these trailers, we are now able to produce and rotate frozen meals at appropriate productions levels, and using this transport trailer, we can send new product produced to J&B’s warehouse freezer and then in the same trip pick-up “just the right mix” of frozen foods to then re-package for delivery by Trailblazer and volunteers to Wright County seniors including options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  

 

The trailer freezer transports provide efficient backhaul to support the local packing and distribution of 10-14 meal assortments provided by Waverly Café, Catholic Charities, Cargill, and IDA Foods; and enjoyed by our seniors.  Because of this new trailer transfer capacity, we will now also be able to offer more variety in our meal distribution including a new choice for smaller lunch portions. 

 

Since early on, with the support of Cargill in Monticello, we have been able to add breakfast food options to our ten frozen meal assortments.   We now plan to add meals from AMI and prepared by IDA Foods in the mix as a lunch portion.  This is a cost cutting measure and provides better portion control for our senior’s diets.

 

With the time saving created in product transfer for both the Café and transport staff (Joel), we hope to improve our cost efficiency again by learning how to better source the protein in our Senior Frozen Meals through Second Harvest and other protein providers.  The smaller of the two trailers can be used for this process.  In addition, it will be used to provide prepared food rescue support for Forgotten Harvest, one of our amazing partners.

 

 

   

   

Joel Klaverkamp (the guy who backs the trailer and takes great pictures) and Jose Flores of Forgotten Harvest

 

   

 

As we mentioned last week, you can make a difference.  For the most part, new seniors just learning about our work find out about us through word of mouth including your support by forwarding this Update to your senior friends or family who could perhaps use a little help managing and are isolated somewhat in their homes.  Please forward this email to any senior or a family member of a senior that you feel could potentially use this information or might want to share it with their friend who could.

 

Shout-out to Strategic Partners

 

NourishingHOPE has extended frozen meal support just beyond the Wright County Line to the east into Western Hennepin County.   I am aware of ten new applications for nutrition support  taken this week through NourishingHOPE in Western Hennepin.  Seniors there in Western Hennepin County can reach out to NourishingHOPE to learn about frozen meal support in their local community.  Communities in Western Hennepin include: Corcoran, Greenfield, Hamel, Hassen, Loretto, Rogers, Delano, Hanover, Maple Plain, Otsego, and Rockford.  For more information, please contact nourishinghope.oflc@gmail.com or call (763) 477-6300.  Seniors living in Wright County should continue to call the WCCA office at (320) 963-6500 ext. 274 to coordinate frozen meal delivery.

 

As part of this week’s update, we want to be sure and acknowledge the part that the Local 292 IBEW and OLYMPIATECH Electric played in getting the electrical services we needed installed at Waverly Café so our new freezer trailer was ready to go when it pulled into the Café this week.  The Union and OLYMPIATECH Electric really came through with time and materials to support this effort.  Thank you for your big-hearted support!

 

    

 

LOCAL 292 IBEW and OLYMPIATECH Electric helping feed Wright County seniors - https://olympiatech.net

 

Untiedt’s Gift of Fresh Farm Produce to Wright County and North Minneapolis

 

It’s harvest time at Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm.

 

    

Fall is upon us – Yep this produce is still beautiful!

 

   

 

   

 

This week’s Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm Produce Distribution

 

You will notice that although we accepted a great deal of farm fresh produce, there were still 227 available cases this week of fresh fruit and vegetables on the farm for which we didn’t have a place.  This year alone, just through the 2020 growing season so far, the food from willing donations left on the farm(s) represents over 27,000 pounds of product. 

 

This is fresh produce for which we hope to find solutions that will make a difference in Wright County and our neighboring communities for years to come.   Investigations are currently taking place, looking to expand opportunities and the required resources necessary, so that we can both share fresh farm produce from Wright County producers further out, as well as develop the means to preserve this abundant produce to provide more “direct from the farm” foods over the Minnesota winters right here in Wright County.  More information to come.

  

   

 

   

Buffalo Food Shelf (Tim Gallagher)                                Delano Senior Center

 

   

Love INC Heartland                                                          Big Lake Food Shelf

 

   

    Grace Place in Montrose

 

This week our partnership with Forgotten Harvest and Twin Cities Relief delivered 120 cases of fresh farm vegetables to North Minneapolis.  Maybe soon we will get the capacity to send out all the produce available for distribution.

 

   

 

Joel, how did you get this tractor to stop by for a picture?  Very fitting!

 

    

Twin Cities Relief has put together quite a team – Thanks for all you are doing!

 

    

 

Please let us know if there are other food security partners that we are not reaching with fresh fruit and vegetables from Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm.  Please forward this email to them or give them our contact information.

 

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)

 

Please forward this email to potential partners!

 

Thankful,

 

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

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

 

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.

·        Delano Coburn’s – weekly food rescue makes a tremendous impact on food security resources.

·        Local Farmers – Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm and Dechene Corporation of Big Lake Minnesota – 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.

·        Electrical Workers Union, IBEW Local 292 – brought to the partnership Olympia Tech Electric to support new electrical service needed at Waverly Café

·        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), HWY 55 Trailer Sales of Buffalo, 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.