GOFFTOWN, N.H. (AP) — A group of friends and neighbors gathers weekly for a meal of nutritious food paid for by a social program aimed at maintaining healthy eating habits among seniors. Choose from our special menu.
They’re all over 60 and chat and tease about family, politics and the news of the day while enjoying butternut squash soup, sandwiches, oats and eggs.
But if you’re imagining people gathering at a senior center for lunch, think again.
Long before the coronavirus shut down social gatherings, lunch was losing its appeal at some senior centers. Some stores did not reopen even after the pandemic.
Join this elegant solution that is gaining popularity. Set aside some federal and state funding to feed seniors, give struggling restaurants more choice, flexible timing, and a non-judgmental environment to help balance the equation. It helps seniors come together and chat by providing freshly prepared meals. and eradicate loneliness.
“Isolation is the new pandemic,” said John Ericezzo, president of Meals on Wheels in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. The organization delivers meals to homebound seniors and senior centers, as well as running one of several similar programs. “Knocking on doors and meeting people who are stuck at home helps. But calling people together to do this – mutual support – nothing beats this.”
Seniors are changing. They may not be able to come at a regular time for lunch or dinner because they still work, care for grandchildren, or attend medical appointments. And after years of cooking for other people, it’s nice to be able to sit down at a restaurant and order a meal.
Some restaurant programs target older adults in rural areas. Some benefit people with limited access to transportation. Some target minority communities.
“When there’s a difference in service, everyone does something a little different,” says Lisa Labonte, a nutrition consultant based in Connecticut.
According to information compiled by meal on wheels america, One in four Americans is over the age of 60, and 12,000 more people turn 60 every day. People on fixed incomes also live longer with less money. One in two elderly people living alone do not have the income to cover their basic needs.
Debbie LaBarre looks forward to weekly gatherings with friends at a bright and lively restaurant just a short drive from her New Hampshire apartment. The special menu at White Birch Eatery in Goffstown lists the calorie, carbohydrate, and sodium content of the meal, which meets the daily requirements for adults as recommended by the Department of Agriculture under the Federal Older Adults Act Nutrition Program. One-third of the requirements must be approved by a nutritionist. Labar and others enroll in the program and swipe a credit card or keychain-style card with a QR code to pay for their allotted meals. There is no charge for meals, but donations are encouraged.
LaBarre, 67, lost weight in preparation for her recent surgery, despite eating out more. But the most important thing for her Laval is that she interacts with other people. She retired after many years as a manager at a plumbing and heating business and is concerned about Alzheimer’s disease.
“My mom had it and was always home. She never left,” she said. “I said I was going to be as social as possible because I was scared to death of it.”
LaBarre takes her friend, who is recently widowed and blind, to another restaurant in Merrimack, New Hampshire, that participates in the program.
“He says, ‘I’m never going out unless you take me,'” LaBarre said.
From a nutrition perspective, “we eat better when we eat in groups,” says nutrition consultant Jean Lloyd. “Studies show that we eat healthier when we surround ourselves with people who eat healthily. And older people are a vulnerable population.”
She cited a 2020 article about: The health effects of loneliness on older people. The US Surgeon General recently noted the prevalence of loneliness in the population. In the United States, the health risks are as deadly as smoking up to 15 cigarettes every day.
The program focuses on the broader Older Adults Act goals of reducing hunger and food insecurity and promoting the socialization, health, and well-being of older adults.
In the 1980s, the restaurant was considered a lesser-known and unpopular alternative to traditional dinner parties held in senior centers or church basements. As of earlier this year, there were at least 26 states where some restaurants and other food providers had local partnerships with area agencies on aging and nonprofits such as Meals on Wheels.
“We get to meet people and check in on them, and they bring new friends,” said Cindy Williams, owner of White Birch Eatery, which opened in March 2020 just before the pandemic. , we sometimes meet new faces.” Shut everything down. It resumed limited operations in the summer of the same year. “And even though the margins are low, it helps us as well. It allows our staff to stay here and keep their jobs.”
For example, partnerships with restaurants in states like New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa and New Jersey begin as COVID-19 restrictions lift and curbside pickup becomes more urgent. Meanwhile, communities in Massachusetts, upstate New York, and Northern California established pre-pandemic programs targeting rural and ethnic communities, and new restaurants are joining.
“The pandemic has presented us with an opportunity because it has made everyone aware of the need to think differently, rather than delivering services the same way we always have. ” said Edwin Walker, Assistant Secretary for Aging Policy. Department of Health and Human Services.
Some programs offer to-go options for seniors, grocery meal services, food trucks, and catering at hospital facilities, senior centers and other community locations in addition to or in lieu of in-house restaurant dining. We offer
Partnerships begin at the local level.federal government Community life administration, which oversees nutrition services programs and provides grants to innovative projects, does not keep data on the number of participating restaurants or people or total costs. I am working on a research project to learn more about them.
The federal fund is distributed to each state Based on Eq. Each state works with local governments on aging and related nonprofits to distribute funding and provides matching funding for some programs. Nonprofits are also seeking grants and donations.
Programs target services to those with the greatest economic or social need, including low-income and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and those with limited English proficiency.
Programs must be adjusted to accommodate food and labor costs, which can be difficult. Restaurants have been issued refunds, but funding sources are limited, especially since coronavirus-related emergency funds have ended.
“For every meal we serve, we get $8.11,” Ericezzo said. “The cost of the meal is $13. We recommend a $4 donation. Even with all the donations, we’re still 80 cents short.”
To save money, restaurants may offer smaller portion sizes or lower monthly meal maximums to more specifically target who uses their meal programs the most. You may need to adjust your menu accordingly.
Still, partnering with restaurants is less costly than contracting with city halls or churches for local dining options, said Janet Balus, director of nutrition for the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging.
Benz Smokehouse & Pub in Westgate, Iowa, population 200, was the first in Bull’s jurisdiction to sign up after cooking meals for meal-on-wheel recipients during the worst of the pandemic. It was a restaurant.
But before that happened, times were tough.
“We’ve been sitting here all day and we didn’t have $100 in the register,” said restaurant owner Sheila Benz. “They saved us.”
And it’s also helping the elderly.
Robert Mays, 65, started going to Lizard Bush in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife and mother-in-law for weekly “Senior Lunch Bunch” gatherings.
“It brings together people who live in the same area but don’t normally meet, or even people of different races, and we learn that we are more similar than different. ” he said.
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Associated Press writer Rodrick Ngowi in Boston contributed to this article.