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Update on Senior Nutrition Program
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Colson, Human Services Agency Community Support and Outreach Department, Human Services Program Manager, 704-296-4896
ACTION REQUESTED:
Receive as information an overview of and update on the Community Support and Outreach Department's Senior Nutrition Program.
BACKGROUND:
Established in 1972, the Union County Senior Nutrition program (UCSNP) is available for County residents age 60+, and exists with the goal of providing nutritious meals, social interaction, and referrals to other necessary safety-net services for this vulnerable population. UCSNP promotes, supports, and improves the health and well-being of senior adults through the provision of a nutritionally balanced meal five days per week. The program supplies congregate meals and programming at four meal-site locations and home delivered meals to homebound seniors who cannot attend a congregate site. UCSNP serves congregate and homebound warm meals to 275 seniors, and an additional 70 seniors in isolated rural areas receive frozen meals.
In addition to clients currently being served, there is a growing waitlist. Prior to COVID, the program had a wait list of ~170 seniors, however special pandemic-response funds allowed us to eliminate the waiting list and serve all seniors in need. We restarted the wait list in February 2022 and 429 seniors are on the waiting list as of March 2024.
Approximately 78% of those receiving homebound frozen meals and 72% receiving homebound warm meals are at or below the Federal Poverty Limit (FPL). Seniors who receive home delivered meals have a limited ability to prepare food for themselves and are unable to leave home at will. Some require additional resources, and most are socially isolated.
With significant increases in meal prices and the expiration of COVID-relief funds, we are facing a $169,000 deficit to fund meals in FY25 for our current clients. Without this funding, we will need...
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