By Janelle Fisher
Intern
GREEN BAY – For the past 50 years, the Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Brown County has offered delivery and dine-in meals to seniors throughout Brown County through its Homebound Meals and Community Cafe programs.
Launched after the Older American Act (OAA) Nutrition Program was passed, which required that all counties provide meals to seniors over the age of 60, the ADRC Between the Homebound Meals and Community Cafe programs, the ADRC serves around 600 meals a day.
Nutrition Program Coordinator Kimberly Gould said ADRC is celebrating this 50th anniversary by taking a look at what these programs have accomplished, how they’ve changed and where they’re going.
Meal programs
Gould said the Homebound Meals program delivers meals daily to seniors who either prefer not to, or are unable to, leave their homes, while Community Cafe offers dine-in meals at several locations around Brown County, in addition to to-go meals seniors can pick up and take with them.
She said the demand for Homebound Meals has seen significant increases in recent years.
“When we look at our dine-in piece versus our homebound piece, we have seen this shift in the homebound piece really growing,” she said. “Right now, our Homebound Meals piece is doing about 550 meals a day, and our program as a whole is doing about a little more than 600 meals a day.”
Gould said some of this is because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the change started even before that, contributing it to general societal changes.
“If you think about what it looked like in the 1970s for food options, the dining, the dynamics are very different now,” she said.
Gould said the increased desire for seniors who want to live in their homes longer and maintain their independence has been driving up the demand for Homebound Meals.
“We have this whole population of seniors who are trying to stay in their homes,” she said. “And sometimes it’s just those couple supports like getting a meal or light housekeeping that are really allowing them to stay independent in their homes.”
Other functions
Gould said though providing meals to seniors is the primary function of Homebound Meals, it is also an opportunity to check on their safety.
“There’s the meal delivery, but it’s also that safety check,” she said. “If you don’t have family in the area or family that’s not able to get to the house every day, knowing that one of our drivers saw their loved one and didn’t see anything out of the norm is a nice comfort.”
Changing demographics
Gould said as she reflects on the last 50 years, she is also looking at what can be changed and improved to keep these programs thriving in the future and accommodate the wants and needs of the community they serve.
“As we look to the future, how do we incorporate more fresh, more local and more options for people?” she said. “And then another huge piece is meeting the changing demographics, as far as diversity.”
Gould said there is a wide range of needs to be met within the senior community.
“When you talk about somebody who’s 60 versus somebody who’s 98, it’s very different,” she said. “They’re all different stages of life.”
Always looking for volunteers
As the ADRC adapts, Gould said support needs increase as well.
“We innovate to keep meeting the expanding need for our resources that we have right now,” she said. “The space that we operate in, the number of staff, number of volunteers, all of that needs to continue to scale up.”
Gould said the ADRC is always looking for volunteers.
“If you have time to give, we are always looking for volunteers,” she said. “Our Homebound Meals program relies heavily on volunteers. We have more than 200 volunteers that help us on a regular basis delivering meals. We’re always looking for more people to join that family.”
Because the Homebound Meals and Community Cafe programs are donation-based, Gould said financial support from the community is appreciated as well.
“There’s never enough funds to do all the things we want to do and reach all the people because we are donation-based,” she said. “We have people who are unable to contribute towards their meal, and it really helps offset those to receive outside donations supporting the programs.”
Gould said besides the meal programs, the ADRC provides a variety of other resources for aging and disabled people.
She said spreading the word about them helps connect people with the resources they need and might not know are available.
“I always tell people, any place that you’re working or any community you’re part of, there are people who are caregiving,” Gould said, “and just knowing these resources are out there could play a vital role in their success and caring for a loved one.”
More information about ADRC’s meal programs, as well as other available services, can be found at adrcofbrowncounty.org.