Loren Havemeier and Adam Bibbs

INTERVIEW REPORT

Loren Havemeier and Adam Bibbs

Senior Citizens Nutrition Services

Rosie Skramstad-Site Supervisor/Manager, (507) 931-8007

November 23, 2004 10:00 a.m.

A. Adam Bibbs and I, Loren Havemeier, did our site visit at the Senior Citizens Nutrition Services located at Park Manor Apartments, which is located across from the Minnesota Square Park in St. Peter. The building is owned by the city of St. Peter and residents there must be 55 years of age or older. The Senior Citizen Nutrition Program is privately operated and funded through grants received from the federal and state governments. It is also the only organization that provides these services in St. Peter. Anyone is eligible for a meal but it is mainly meant for senior citizens to use. Dietitians put meals together then Rosie and her co-workers serve the people in need.

B. There are a couple of services provided through the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program. The first one is called Meals on Wheels. Meals on Wheels is a program which delivers meals to Senior Citizens age 60 or older who are unable to come to the Park Manor Apartments for daily meals. Orders are taken either by phone or by filling out a monthly menu. Next, the meals are prepared at the Park Manor Apartments. Volunteers deliver the meals. The volunteers donate a couple hours of their time each month to deliver the meals. The second service that is provided by the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program is daily meals during the week and frozen meals for the weekend, this service is funded by the Older Americans Act.

C. Senior citizens aged 60 or older are welcome for daily meals and in turn are asked to make a small donation if they are able to for each meal. They select their meal from a menu just like in Meals on Wheels. There is an option for people who are diabetic or have hypertension. After they select their meal a part time staff from the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program prepares the meals which are cooked already and brought in from the Mankato Kitchen. The third service the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program provides is health education. All the senior citizens are encouraged to attend at least one educational session per month. At the sessions they talk about the overall health of a person and they also talk about fiber, salt content, how to read labels, etc. Many of the senior citizens find the educational session very helpful and interesting. On Friday, senior citizens can receive frozen meals for the weekend being the Nutrition Services aren't available on the weekends. The target population is all senior citizens that are 60 and older. The majority of the senior citizens that attend this service are widowed, but there are some married couples that come to the service. Most are healthy as can be, but enjoy the social aspect when everyone meets for lunch or supper. They also honor or celebrate birthdays to give more of a friendly atmosphere. On average, the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program serves about 55 senior citizens a day, which includes Meals on Wheels.

D. Rosie stated, “The goals and objectives of the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program are to serve a nutritious, well-balanced meal, to provide a comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere, and to provide the 1/3 of the daily requirements.”

E. As far as their staff goes Rosie Skramstad is the site supervisor/manager, she has four part time workers who come in daily to help prepare and serve the meals. The drivers for the Meals on Wheels are all volunteers. They are more than happy to take volunteers who are willing to volunteer throughout the year.

F. Overall, we were pretty impressed by the organization. It was very organized and well put together. It was great to see the smiles on the face of the senior citizens when they met with the staff members of the nutrition program. All in all, it was a great experience and most of all it was nice to see what it really meant to the senior citizens for the time the volunteers gave them. Together, we didn't see or recognize any weaknesses or drawbacks of this organization.

G. This organization engages in community service by reaching out to any senior citizen who is in need of a well-balanced meal. The employees demonstrate their vocation to health by all the volunteer work they do with a positive attitude. With all these volunteers working together and helping the senior citizens, it creates a healthy community. The great thing about volunteering is you don't necessarily have to be certified to help out anyone in need of services you are providing.