Dear Friends and Partners,
This is the September 27th update of
Wright County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for Seniors (60+).
We are starting our 28th 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, assisted transportation and other
logistical issues as they present.
One
way you can help today is to share this email with friends or family that might
be interested in assisting our seniors with their transportation needs.
We are looking for more volunteer drivers to help support this effort. We do reimburse mileage.
Volunteers can contact us at the telephone number above. Dialing zero
will also get you to a staff assistant.
Wright County COVID-19 IMPACT
As
of September 24th we have 1,574 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wright County. This
measurement began March 13th of this year. This week we had 97 new confirmed cases which
is up L from 71 last week. There are
a total of 14 new cases this week over
70 years of age (a 15% increase in one week) for a pandemic total of 106. L This is a significant increase
for our county seniors. In the previous two weeks combined we had only
gained 2 new cases.
September 24, 2020 Wright County confirmed case by
Age September 17, 2020 Wright County
confirmed case by Age
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/52d559cfbe6e4ca39558c9b2f877e144
Please
keep the communication lines open. We hope you will share our information
with your senior friends and family (60+). Our seniors have higher potential
health risks or impact from the COVID-19 virus. Please share this
story so all 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. Separation and isolation can really
start to get to us all, even more for many of our older neighbors that are not
as mobile as they use to be.
This
week we are trying something new. With the support of J&B Group’s Freezer
Storage and the new freezer trailers received last week, we are starting to
offer frozen meals in lunch portion sizes. As I mentioned last week,
frozen meals stored at J&B can now be picked up in just the right
quantities to allow a much simpler packing process for staff and volunteers.
Meals stored at J&B Group and headed to last Monday’s packing
Wright County Food Shelf Staff and Volunteers packing senior
frozen meals Volunteer - Sheryl Woulett
For
months now we have been offering a variety pack of 10 tasty meals locally
produced by the Waverly Café and Catholic Charities. This
week we are adding an additional four varieties to each pack for a total of 14
different meal types. The four new varieties in each pack are first class
meals from the airline industry and will provide a lunch portion option for our
seniors.
First Class meals prepared by IDA Foods (AMI Group - https://www.amigrp.com )
Our
seniors have been eating “first class” from the beginning, but now literally
they will have the opportunity to experience the same first class meals
provided by the airlines for an additional lunch option. These meals will
supply just a little more variety for our friends to enjoy and will take up
very little additional freezer space. We packed almost 2,400 meals on
Monday this week not including breakfast foods. Meals packed this week
included 10 varieties from Waverly Café (1710 meals), four from IDA
Foods (684 meals), and breakfast foods from Cargill (513).
Meals headed for the Buffalo Crossings Freezer for distribution
Shout-out to Strategic Partners
This week I
want to commend two restaurant owners.
First, the Waverly
Café for their strict attention to making certain their customers and our
community enjoy a safe environment. While cleared to remain open by the
Minnesota Health Department, owner Sarah Larson at the Waverly Café, has chosen
to take even extra care. One of the employees working at the Café
recently tested positive for COVID-19. While not required to close, out
of extra precaution for the safety of customers and employees, the Café will be
closed until October 3rd. We are so proud to partner with an
organization that holds the highest safety standards and looks out for our
community. I know some of you will be anxious for them to reopen on
Saturday.
Second, to
Joel Nystrom the owner of Buffalo Crossing in Buffalo. Joel has
given so much to this partnership allowing us for months to benefit from the
use of his Facility including commercial freezer and refrigerator. His
facility and walk-in freezer have been instrumental in the packing, storage,
and delivery of literally tens of thousands of frozen meals to area
seniors. Joel, demonstrated again this week his willingness to help and
his concern for our seniors.
Buffalo Crossings Walk-in Freezer and
Commercial Kitchen
Lastly, I
want to thank these two ladies for their volunteer work supporting curb side
voter registration in front of the Wright County Food Shelf in Waverly.
Abundance
from Untiedt’s
This week Untiedt’s
Vegetable Farm has come through with 421
boxes of Leeks, Tomatoes, Red Potatoes, Sweet Corn, Zestar Apples, Cucumbers,
Tomatillos, Sweet Italian Peppers, Chub Cucumbers, Butternut Squash, Habanero
Peppers, and Poblano Peppers. What a great selection!
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!
Appreciative,
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.
·
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.
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