Dear Friends and Partners,
This is the November 29th update of Wright
County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for Seniors (60+). We are
starting our 37th 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.
This week we
just want to hit pause to remember all that we have to be thankful for.
Two really special star performers from early on in the Pandemic!!! Tina and Joel, I cannot put into words, I how grateful I am for your support during this effort.
Joel Klaverkamp and Tina Portz
Giving Partners:
· WCCA Staff - Support from multiple programs working to braid any allowable resource to make
a difference for our seniors.
Big shout out to Joel Klaverkamp, Eric Nagel and our Aging Alliance calling
team, Rebecca Rydbom and our Head Start supporters, Jay Brenny and our Energy
Assistance team, Teresa Jaros and our Fiscal team, and Tammy Prestidge
and our Food Shelf team. Not enough pictures to show the tireless hours our
WCCA team has put into for our seniors.
· Countless community volunteers - Everything from administrative services support (Steve), logistics and storage coordination (Tina), bulk food and materials transport (Joel), senior transportation, local meal delivery, meal packing, senior call center activity, PPE production and product support, volunteer coordination (Terri), food rescue, and so many more details where you fill the gap (you too, know who you all are – we are so grateful for your courage and willingness to step forward to meet needs).
· 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 work force and produce for senior meal support and local food security needs.
· 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 that provided innovative solutions to multiple challenges we 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. A special thank you to WCCA Board member, Terri Harris, who has worked tirelessly to coordinate these daily volunteer efforts.
·
Delano
Senior Center – senior services
application fulfillment and frozen meal distribution, produce distribution
partner, as well as Meals-on-Wheels referral partner.
·
NourshingHOPE – Senior services applications fulfillment for
Western Hennepin County, frozen meal and produce distribution partners (St.
Thomas Catholic Church, Light of Christ Lutheran Church, Colonial Mall –
Alleluia Lutheran, Montrose United Methodist, Our Father’s Lutheran Church, and
Buffalo Covenant Church).
·
Forgotten
Harvest - Food and Produce
Distribution
· Twin Cities Rescue/Forgotten Harvest North Minneapolis - Food and Produce Distribution
·
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
· Local Lions (Waverly, Montrose, Howard Lake, Maple Lake, Loretto, and Monticello) and 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 – For many years, numerous very generous churches 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, Grace Place, North Ridge Fellowship Small Group and friends, Montrose United Methodist Church have provided 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.
·
AMI
Group and IDA Foods – Provided access to
airline meal vendors, adding senior meal production capacity and contingency
support. This opportunity to purchase excess stock of first-class airline
meals due to drop in air travel and our partners sharing their relationships.
So much to be
thankful for,
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:
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