Dear Friends and Partners,
This is the November 15th update of
Wright County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for Seniors (60+).
We are starting our 35th 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.
In addition to our
work in Wright County NourishingHOPE is extending frozen meal support
just beyond the Wright County Line to the east into Western Hennepin
County. 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
about Western Hennepin services, please contact nourishinghope.oflc@gmail.com or call (763) 477-6300.
Wright
County COVID-19 IMPACT
As of
November 12th we have 4,440 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 in Wright County. This measurement began March 13th
of this year. The chart below demonstrates the trend of cases since
mid-March. This week we had a surge of 1,083 new confirmed cases added to last week’s 3,357 total confirmed cases. L The last four weeks we
have gained 191, 397, 626, and this week 1083 respectively – really
praying for this trend to slow down. LL
This was another big COVID-19 week:
seniors please be cautious. This week, on November 12th, the
single day high went up to 207. The previous single day high was 116 cases on
November 5th.
November 5,
2020
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/52d559cfbe6e4ca39558c9b2f877e144
There is
a total of 79 new cases this week over 70 years of age in Wright County after
last week’s gain of 48 for a pandemic total of 330. This is over a 60% increase in new cases for
seniors over 70 years of age just in the last two weeks. L Currently the oldest
senior with a COVID-19 case in Wright County is 101 and the youngest case is
three months.
Impact to our oldest residence
With
cases surging, it is of greatest importance to consider the impact on our oldest
residents. While we need to protect this population, please
realize separation and social distancing also has its negative impact on this
vulnerable group. No matter how old you are, just ask yourself: are you feeling a little less steady since this pandemic
began? Please share this story
so all our seniors know a place to go if they want to confidentially check into
resources they may need – also please call the seniors in your life and
your senior neighbors to let them know you care.
Shout-out
to Strategic Partners
NourishingHOPE’s pop up Produce Drops distributed
more than 220 cases of Untiedt’s
fresh farm produce on November 10th in six locations (St. Thomas
Catholic Church, Light of Christ Lutheran Church, Colonial Mall – Alleluia
Lutheran Church, Montrose United Methodist Church, Our Father’s Lutheran
Church, and Buffalo Covenant Church). These six locations distributed
29,570 pounds
of produce to 635 cars and 1,945 individuals spreading out produce across
at least 35 unduplicated zip
codes. At least 545 seniors
benefited from this produce drop alone. Wow! What an amazing effort
from the NourishingHOPE Team!
Untiedt’s
produce ready for distribution at NourishingHOPE
NourishingHOPE
volunteers
Just
a few hours later the produce is on its way to local homes
In
this location, it didn’t take long before there was an empty truck and 20 cars
still in line
Pastor
Cathy Jones loading a vehicle
This week’s Untiedt’s
Distribution
Looks like 🥕 🥕🥕 Farmer Jerry 🥕 🥕🥕 from Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm
came through with another surprise this week. We delivered 455 cases of produce with an additional
undisclosed bonus of carrots. Joel delivered: Cabbage,
Zestar Apples, Kohlrabi, Beets, Cauliflower, Red Potatoes, and Butternut
Squash.
Maple
Lake
Manor
Delano Senior Center
Buffalo Food
Shelf
Big-Lake Food Shelf Annandale
Food Shelf
Please let us know if
there are any 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!
Blessed,
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.
·
NourshingHOPE – senior
services applications fulfillment, frozen meal distribution, and produce
distributions.
·
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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