March for Meals Campaign to Help Recover Local Deficit

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Senior Center (Sela Senci) has teamed up with Missoula Aging Services (MAS) for the 15th annual March for Meals – a month-long, nationwide celebration and fundraising effort for Meals on Wheels. Sela Senci has delivered up to 19 meals per day in the Seeley Lake area and is currently running a $100 per week deficit with their program. While Sela Senci holds fundraisers to help keep their budget in the black, President Boyd Gossard is thankful for the opportunity to raise additional funds to offset the shortfall.

Meals on Wheels provided more than 100,000 meals to older adults and eligible adults with disabilities in Missoula County this past year. About 130 volunteer drivers deliver the hot, nutritious meals Monday through Friday and provide an important check on clients as well. Routes extend around Missoula and many areas in the county including Seeley Lake, Condon, Frenchtown, Clinton and Lolo.

"It is really important to provide nutritious meals to people who would not otherwise get them," said Gossard. "It is a vital service to folks without a way to get a good meal and it is a convenience to those who are homebound."

Sela Senci offers congregate meals at the Seeley Lake Senior Center and delivers Meals on Wheels Monday through Friday except on holidays. The meals consist of soup, salad, main course, drink and dessert. Meals on Wheels meals include salad, fruit or Jell-O, main course and dessert.

Sela Senci gets state and federal commodity meats and some canned goods at no cost but it is not enough for the whole year. Last summer they received a lot of food donations from events at Camp Paxson. The rest of the time Gossard said they purchase as much food locally as possible.

The Seeley Lake meals program is unable to accommodate special diets including diabetic and vegetarian meal requests, like they do in Missoula. Head Cook Hope Lewis said is just takes too much time to make separate meals.

"We keep everything nutritional and healthy and it is all home cooked and we don't salt stuff," said Lewis. "People can eliminate parts of the meal if they can't eat it."

The main criteria for those who receive Meals on Wheels are that clients are 60 years or older and meet the Medicare home bound criteria. Meals are available to those under age 60 who meet eligibility requirements including spouses or caregiver or someone who is disabled. The farthest clients are less than five miles from downtown Seeley Lake.

From July 1, 2016- Feb. 28, 2017 Sela Senci has provided 4,450 meals to 88 different people in the community. Of those, 1,676 were Meals on Wheels.

While Lewis prefers to see people come for the congregate meals because of the social atmosphere, she said, "Meals on Wheels is a great program for those that really need it."

Currently there are four to five volunteer drivers and a few substitutes who deliver the meals. Gossard said they are always looking for more drivers.

Volunteer coordinator Gina Roberts said perfecting the art of visiting with the clients but keeping to the schedule so all of the meals are delivered hot is essential for drivers and can be the hardest part. Roberts said drivers quickly learn their individual client's needs and are as accommodating as they can be.

The meals cost $8 to produce. Half of the cost is subsidized through Missoula County. The client is asked to contribute the other half. Once per month Meals on Wheels recipient receive an invoice for the number of meals with a suggested price based on their income.

"Some cannot pay and that is why we are up against a pretty significant shortfall at the Seeley Lake Senior Center," said MAS Resource Specialist Linda Howard. "It's not the congregate meals [creating the deficit]. It is our most vulnerable people out there who are homebound. They can't really get out to buy their own food, they can't cook their own food."

In order to provide the current level of service and respond quickly when the call for meals comes, MAS needs to raise $100,000 from the community each year. This year's goal is to raise $60,000 of that amount during March for Meals.

Sela Senci's Bookkeeper Annie Marron said that they are $2,000 short this fiscal year because of clients being unable to pay.

"We expect a contribution based on income," said Marron. "Half of the people receiving Meals on Wheels don't contribute for the meals so we need help from the community to help pay for that."

In addition to the March for Meals fundraising campaign, Howard said MAS will be starting home assessments to clients of Meals on Wheels to check out the environment and the situation. While this has not been done in Seeley Lake before, it is done in Missoula and helps people get additional services if needed.

The March for Meals campaign lasts through March 31; however donations are appreciated all year. Howard has packets available at the MAS office in the Bison and Bear Center that can be used to help collect donations in the community.

To donate to the March for Meals, checks can be made out to MAS Seeley Lake and dropped off at the MAS office in the Bison and Bear Center Monday through Thursday until 4:30 p.m. Donations can also be made online by visiting Howard's team page, https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/M4M2017/LindaHoward.

To sign up for Sela Senci's Meals on Wheels program or participate in congregate meals call 677-2008 by 8 a.m. to reserve a seat.

For more information about the Missoula County Meals on Wheels program visit missoulaagingservices.org and search for Meals on Wheels.