Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Seniors Depend On Meals
PRAIRIE GROVE — Freda and Fredie Rose of Prairie Grove depend on their daily hot meal through the Meals on Wheels program.
“Before we had it, I didn’t realize how helpful it would be,” Freda Rose said. “It’s wonderful having it now.”
Freda Rose has diabetes, is a paraplegic and uses an electric scooter to get around. Her husband, a veteran and former officer with the Arkansas State Police, also has diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease.
Their kitchen is not handicapped accessible and it is hard for her to cook a meal. Her husband is not able to cook.
Through Meals on Wheels, she said she is assured that the couple will receive one nutritional meal each day.
The food is enough, she said, that she and her husband can just eat a sandwich for supper.
“To have the meal prepared for you is so helpful,” Rose said.
To lose the daily meal would be devastating, Rose added.
“I just couldn’t imagine life without it.”
The Prairie Grove, Farmington and Lincoln senior centers are losing about $ 20,000 this year because of federally mandated budget cuts. The centers will have to raise more money or maybe cut services.
One possibility is that the centers will have to place senior adults on a Meals on Wheels waiting list or another discussion is whether to eliminate the frozen meals delivered to the homebound for the weekend.
Fay Stepp, who lives at Savannah Parks apartments in Farmington, also is not able to cook for herself and depends on Meals on Wheels each day. She has lived at Savannah Parks for 13 years and is on oxygen 24 hours a day.
Gwen Alexander, another resident at Savannah Parks, has been receiving the home delivered meals for about nine months.
“I very much need the meal,” Alexander said. “The food is well planned, well-balanced. You get all the things you need.”
Jerry Mitchell, executive director of Area Agency on Aging for Northwest Arkansas, said Arkansas ranks third in the nation in hungry seniors but is in the top 10 for food production.
“We have about 100,000 to 110,000 seniors in our ninecounty region,” Mitchell said.
Not all of these seniors are involved in the region’s senior centers but Washington County has good participation at its centers, Mitchell said.
The prepared hot meals are based on need, not welfare. Seniors are asked to contribute $2 or $2.50 to help defray the costs of a $6 meal but they are not required to pay.
Linda Willkie, site manager of the Prairie Grove Senior Activity and Wellness Center, said food costs are high but senior centers have to meet nutrition guidelines and standards for all their prepared meals.
“We have to follow a menu,” Willkie said, noting, “We can’t just say, ‘ today we’re going to have beans and cornbread.’”
Each meal must meet one- third of the required daily allowance for a senior adult, which includes 4 ounces of protein, two vegetables with 3 ounces each, bread and milk.
“It’s not willy nilly,” Mitchell said, noting, the menus have to be approved by the Area Agency on Aging.
He said one senior center asked about serving baloney sandwiches at the request of some of the seniors.
“No, you can’t do that,” Mitchell said. “It has to be a good, hardy meal.”
Ken Harvey has delivered Meals on Wheels for about seven years in Farmington and he said the benefits of the program extend beyond the daily hot meal.
“Some of them, I’m probably the only one who they see during the day, unless they have a caretaker,” Harvey said.
He said his daily visit allows him to check on the senior adults.
One time, a woman had fallen and knocked off her oxygen tube.
“If I hadn’t come in, no telling how long she would have lain there,” Harvey said. “It’s a good program. It is more than just providing food to them.”
Along with the meals, Mitchell said the centers provide wellness activities and programs and center directors are working to improve the overall health of seniors.
“We want to continue to do the best we can,” Mitchell said.
Willkie agreed, saying that is why she wants seniors to become involved in the centers.
“It’s a safe place for them with nutritious meals. It is educational and provides socialization,” Willkie said.
Freda Rose said she and her husband contribute money for their meals and support the Prairie Grove center as much as they can.
“I would encourage anyone and everyone to donate in every way possible,” Rose said. “I encourage people to check it out, go eat a meal and enjoy the activities.”