Dear Friends and Partners,
This is the January 24th update of Wright
County’s Care and Nutrition Partnership Support for Seniors (60+). We are
starting our 45th 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.
Mary knows!
Wright County COVID-19 IMPACT
As of January 21st we’ve had 11,686 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wright County. This measurement began March 13th of 2020. The chart below demonstrates the daily trend of cases since mid-March. We’ve had 199 new confirmed cases since last week – 18 new cases over age 70. As you can see from the chart below gratefully the number of cases each week have continued to decline. Last week we had 310 new confirmed cases and the two week before that averaging about 350 each week. This is a wonderful trend.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/52d559cfbe6e4ca39558c9b2f877e144
Find my vaccine https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/find-vaccine/index.jsp
https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/data/index.jsp
Seniors, if you want to learn more about access to the vaccine you might consider signing up for an email update from Wright County Health and Human Services:
http://www.co.wright.mn.us/999/COVID-19-Vaccine-Newsletter-Signup
If you know a Senior who has limited or no access to email and the Internet they can learn more about the vaccine by calling the Wright County Coronavirus Information Line:
763-682-7607. These are wonderful resources provided by the County.
If you just want to know a little bit more about the basics of the vaccine:
http://www.co.wright.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/21224/Moderna-Vaccine-Fact-Sheet
Impact to our oldest residents in Minnesota
https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/stats/covidweekly02.pdf
This is a chart I just cannot take down. Seniors have much more to risk. Please Share this information with your friends and the seniors in your life. Let’s make a determined effort to protect our seniors and vulnerable friends and use the time necessary to let the vaccine and herd immunity do its good work.
PLEASE realize that separation and social distancing also has its negative impact on this vulnerable group. Please share this story so all our seniors and their family and friends know a place to go if they want to confidentially check into resources they may need – also please call the seniors next door or in your town to let them know you care.
Shout-out to Strategic Partners
Please
mark your calendar - NourishingHOPE’s next distribution in partnership with Second Harvest is
February 9th. NourishingHOPE’s network of faith-based
organizations is doing a tremendous job of getting food out to our seniors and
everyone in their communities. Organizations include:
- Buffalo Covenant Church
- Corcoran St. Thomas Church
- Delano Light of Christ Church
- Montrose Grace Place
- Montrose United Methodist
Church
- Rockford Our Father’s Lutheran
Church
- St. Michael Alleluia Church
As of January 21, 2021 the Senior Care and Nutrition Partnership has delivered 84,126 meals to seniors. Our bold partner, Waverly Café, has now produced over 55,000 meals since May 20th.
Process
for getting meals to seniors
Waverly Café’s Stella Parks and Aleks Zavaleta preparing frozen meals
Boxes headed for freezer storage in the trailer
Boxes set
and the packing begins – WCCA’s Food Shelf Team Gaida Ulrick
WCCA’s Aging Services Team members Mel Flanum and Zara Sahli
Ryan
Degner and Jeremy Rice from eQuality Farms, and WCCA’s own Joel Klaverkamp
delivered these meals to the freezer. These
meals went to the Buffalo Crossings LLC Freezer donated by Joel Nystrom of Rockford. Thanks
so much Joel Nystrom for the use of
your space and freezer!!
We
could use your help! If you have a team that might want to help us pack
frozen meals on a Thursday morning, please let us know. Packing usually happens at
least once per week and takes less than two hours. It can be a lot of
fun. Each packing can be done with up to 4 or 5 volunteers. Call 763-658-4414 if
you want to learn more about this volunteering opportunity.
If
you are willing to help deliver meals to seniors homes, please call 320-963-6500 Ext 274 and let us know so that we can find the best
place to plug you in.
If
you or a potential partner would like to help expand these resources 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!
Full of peace,
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 Coborn’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 and
produce.
·
Local Food Shelves –
produce distribution, 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 senior meal delivery.
·
Delano Senior Center –
senior services application fulfillment, frozen meal distribution, produce
distribution, as well as Meals-on-Wheels referral partner.
·
NourshingHOPE – senior
services applications fulfillment, frozen meal distribution, 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
·
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,
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.
·
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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