When Judy Baker first learned she’d received a grant for $8,609 to expand the school district’s free summer food program, she wondered how she could spend it all.
“I figured I had six weeks’ time,” said Baker, food service coordinator for USD 257.
It took less than three weeks to plow through those funds, geared to provide free meals for adults.
“I had no idea there would be such a demand,” Baker said. “It’s sad that there’s that big of a need here.”
Baker said that from her observations, many of the takers were parents of the school children as well as area senior citizens.
“Talk to Sherrie Riebel about the challenges with Meals on Wheels,” she said.
Sure enough, they’re overwhelming.
“I want to sit down and cry every day, the need is so great,” said Riebel, who as Allen County Clerk helps oversee the food delivery program.
Securing enough volunteers to deliver the meals to the homes of the elderly is a perennial problem. Riebel said members of her immediate and church family do much of the heavy lifting. The program has four routes throughout the county with about 11 to 12 homes each. The rest of the meals are delivered to each town’s congregate centers.
There’s also not enough resources to meet the need.
“We serve 80 people a day,” Riebel said, “but the demand is much higher,” with an ever-growing waiting list.
“COVID-19 has really put a kibosh on many of the volunteer efforts,” she said. “They don’t feel comfortable getting out and about.”
“There’s also just the fact that there’s not enough manpower to prepare the needed meals.”
Allen County has $310,060 budgeted for 2020 to provide services for its elderly. That includes meals, transportation services, and the upkeep of its senior citizen centers in Iola, Humboldt and Moran, as well as for use of the Gas Community City and Savonburg City Hall.
For Meals on Wheels, the county pays $2.50 per meal and the food staff at the Allen County Jail prepare the meals.
THE SAME story is played out in Humboldt.
Marsha Frederick, food service director for Humboldt schools, sees food insecurity every day on the job.
