Portage Daily Register: Sen. Baldwin visits to back senior meal program

MONTELLO — For some, it might be their only nutritious meal of the day or week. It is also a check-in, with volunteers seeing what needs to be done.

For all, it is a chance to socialize in what otherwise is an isolated life.

It is of crucial importance to the care of senior citizens, say those who are involved — keeping them longer in their own homes, at a fraction of the cost of living in a nursing home.

Yet county officials are anticipating that fewer funds will be available for Marquette County’s Meals on Wheels and Senior Dining Site programs, programs that have been in operation for 35 years.

The nutrition program was one topic for discussion with the visit to Montello of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who attended a meeting Monday of the Marquette County Nutrition Advisory Council.

“The purpose is to allow independence” for senior citizens for as long as possible, Baldwin said at the Marquette County Service Building. “This is a really smart win-win ounce of prevention (for) our communities.”

But cuts in the programs could happen in the near future: Baldwin’s visit highlighted concerns about what might be lost if the budget sequestration continues into the new federal fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

The county’s Elderly Nutrition Program is partially funded through the Federal Older Americans Act; Baldwin and 17 other senators are cosponsoring the effort to reauthorize it for 2014 through 2018.

Sylvia Phillis, manager of Aging Service for Marquette County’s Department of Human Services, noted that cuts in services at two on-site dining centers — down to two meals per week at the Packwaukee and Oxford centers — already have been made.

“We need that (act) reauthorized,” Phillis said.

While the programs rely heavily on volunteers, they still need help in funding from the state and federal governments, she said.

For 94-year-old Rosalie Milner, the human contact from the meal program is important, and generates friendships among meal recipients and volunteers.

The programs, Milner said, allow people to stay out of nursing homes.

“It’s cheaper (to) support Meals on Wheels” than to fund someone living in a nursing home, Milner noted.

Baldwin agreed.

“One dollar in Meals on Wheels saves (Medicare) expenses,” Baldwin said.

But not on paper: It is frustrating, Baldwin said, because the cost savings of nutrition programs do not factor into Medicare or Medicaid programs; the funds are kept in “different pots” due to accounting practices.

It is not yet known what the impact may be on local programs that are already struggling with the increased costs due to a rise in the number of senior citizens and the rising costs of living and fuel expenses.

The services rely on volunteers.

For senior citizens who are not home-bound, lunches are served – for anyone age 60 and up, and at a suggested donation of $3 — several times per week at six centers around the county, in Montello, Endeavor, Neshkoro, Oxford, Packwaukee and Westfield.

At the meal sites, not only are there meals, but birthday celebrations, card playing, music, educational programs and discussions of issues that involve senior citizens such as scams and health topics.

The meals are well-attended and bring people out of their homes.

“It’s such a wonderful gathering. I would hate to lose it,” Yvonne Vesely told Baldwin.

For Montello resident Richard Moody, having one guaranteed nutritious meal per day is “a godsend.”

And for those receiving Meals on Wheels, having that social visit once a day is very important, said Linda Bennett, who oversees the programs.

“Many of our seniors are isolated. It’s a very rural area,” Bennett said.

They allow the volunteers to take note of what else may need to be done for those they visit.

“We do need this program. ... They couldn’t survive without it,” said volunteer Barbara Wade.

For more information on Marquette County’s nutrition program, call 608-297-3146 or 1-877-627-6767 ext. 3146.