Hot meals a blessing for area seniors
County program will provide more than 30,000 meals this year
File photo Laura Toth, director of the Office for Older Adults, says Medina County’s population is aging.
MEDINA – Hot meals provided by the Medina County Office for Older Adults are crucial to the wellbeing of hundreds of county residents.
OOA Director Laura Toth reported to county commissioners that her office is on schedule to provide more than 30,000 meals this year to older county residents who would probably be skimping on their nutrition needs without the meals programs supported by the county.
The program now helps about 250 people a week meet their nutritional needs with balanced meals approved by a dietician.
“To me, the key to the program is that it keeps older people in the community,” said Toth. “Without the assurance of a healthy diet, some of these people would be in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Our mission is to keep people in their homes where they are most comfortable and remain a part of the larger community. These meals help us do that.”
The majority of those meals go to about 150 home-bound seniors who live independently. The hot meals are delivered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. An additional frozen meal is delivered on Tuesday to provide for Wednesday’s lunch.
The county’s home delivered meal program is primarily funded by a grant from the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging. Toth reports the county had delivered about 18,200 of those hot meals to homebound seniors through Sept. 12 and expects to deliver about 28,000 before the end of the year.
The county supplements the grant funded home delivered meals program with an additional $40,000 from the county general fund to eliminate a waiting list to get into the program. However, Toth told commissioners her office has already used 84 percent of that supplemental money this year and the program is projected to be running in the red during the fourth quarter of the year.
More older adults take advantage of congregate meal programs offered at nutrition sites in Brunswick, Medina and Wadsworth. Eligible older adults can receive a nutritious lunch twice a week at the Medina County Office for Older Adults on Northland Drive in Medina and the Brunswick Recreation Center on Center Road.
In addition, a voucher program in Wadsworth gives eligible residents in Wadsworth and Sharon, Guilford and parts of Montville township a chance to get a free lunch at the Soprema Senior Center and Café next to Wadsworth High School.
Meals are offered at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Medina and Wednesdays and Fridays in Brunswick. Participants are asked to register in advance for meals in Brunswick and Medina.
The Wadsworth voucher program entitles participants to receive anywhere from one to 12 vouchers per month. Vouchers are redeemed Monday through Thursday between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. for either a hot meal or a sandwich. Fruit, vegetables and milk are also part of the meal.
The OOA meal programs have no income limits but participants must be at least 60 years old, register for admission and go through a screening process to assess their nutritional needs.
Toth said the meals program was enacted by President Lyndon Johnson as part of his Great Society initiative. It was adopted in Medina County in the 1970s to help seniors here who were struggling with food security.
OOA Director Laura Toth reported to county commissioners that her office is on schedule to provide more than 30,000 meals this year to older county residents who would probably be skimping on their nutrition needs without the meals programs supported by the county.
The program now helps about 250 people a week meet their nutritional needs with balanced meals approved by a dietician.
“To me, the key to the program is that it keeps older people in the community,” said Toth. “Without the assurance of a healthy diet, some of these people would be in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Our mission is to keep people in their homes where they are most comfortable and remain a part of the larger community. These meals help us do that.”
The majority of those meals go to about 150 home-bound seniors who live independently. The hot meals are delivered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. An additional frozen meal is delivered on Tuesday to provide for Wednesday’s lunch.
The county’s home delivered meal program is primarily funded by a grant from the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging. Toth reports the county had delivered about 18,200 of those hot meals to homebound seniors through Sept. 12 and expects to deliver about 28,000 before the end of the year.
The county supplements the grant funded home delivered meals program with an additional $40,000 from the county general fund to eliminate a waiting list to get into the program. However, Toth told commissioners her office has already used 84 percent of that supplemental money this year and the program is projected to be running in the red during the fourth quarter of the year.
More older adults take advantage of congregate meal programs offered at nutrition sites in Brunswick, Medina and Wadsworth. Eligible older adults can receive a nutritious lunch twice a week at the Medina County Office for Older Adults on Northland Drive in Medina and the Brunswick Recreation Center on Center Road.
In addition, a voucher program in Wadsworth gives eligible residents in Wadsworth and Sharon, Guilford and parts of Montville township a chance to get a free lunch at the Soprema Senior Center and Café next to Wadsworth High School.
Meals are offered at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Medina and Wednesdays and Fridays in Brunswick. Participants are asked to register in advance for meals in Brunswick and Medina.
The Wadsworth voucher program entitles participants to receive anywhere from one to 12 vouchers per month. Vouchers are redeemed Monday through Thursday between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. for either a hot meal or a sandwich. Fruit, vegetables and milk are also part of the meal.
The OOA meal programs have no income limits but participants must be at least 60 years old, register for admission and go through a screening process to assess their nutritional needs.
Toth said the meals program was enacted by President Lyndon Johnson as part of his Great Society initiative. It was adopted in Medina County in the 1970s to help seniors here who were struggling with food security.