• Home
  • About Us
    • Semcac Board of Directors
    • Financial Documents & Fiscal Information
  • Employment
  • Contact Us
  • Ways to Give
    • Donate
    • Volunteer

Semcac

Community Action Agency

  • Clinic
    • Women’s Health
    • Men’s Health
    • Transgender Health
    • Community Education
    • FAQs
  • Emergency Assistance
    • Advocacy, referrals & assistance
    • Food Shelves
    • Homeless Prevention & Assistance
    • Energy Assistance
    • FAQs
  • Energy
    • Energy Assistance
    • Weatherization
    • HELP
    • FAQs
  • Head Start
    • Services
    • Policy Council
    • Resources & Links
    • FAQs
  • Housing
    • Housing Rehab Programs
    • Housing Developments
    • Bluff Country HRA
    • FAQs
  • Senior Services
    • Senior Dining
    • Meals on Wheels
    • Senior & Caregiver Advocacy
    • FAQs
  • Transportation
    • Volunteer Driver Program
    • Vax Van
    • FAQs

Cuts lead to closures of senior meal programs

January 3, 2014 By semcac

Posted: Friday, December 27, 2013 10:09 am | Updated: 10:01 am, Sat Dec 28, 2013

Renata Rislow and her friends who lunch together at the Lewiston Community Center will need to make new arrangements when some three dozen of Minnesota’s 502 congregate dining facilities for seniors close next week, the victim of federal budget cuts.

Lunch hour there usually starts with a joke. “Who goes, `Ho, ho, ho,’ swish. `Ho, ho, ho,’ swish. `Ho, ho, ho,’ swish?” Rislow asked. “Santa Claus caught in revolving doors!”

Rislow, 84, and the other rosy-cheeked women adorned in holiday sweaters gave a hearty laugh before they grabbed plastic cafeteria trays and lined up for a lunch provided by the Southeast Minnesota Community Action Agency, Semcac.

But Minnesota Public Radio reported Friday ( http://bit.ly/1fMMGFY) that some sites aren’t bringing in enough people to stay open, mostly in Greater Minnesota. Semcac will shut four of its 57 dining sites on Tuesday, including lunch in Lewiston.

Jean Wood, executive director of the Minnesota Board on Aging, said providers have made alternative arrangements for seniors, including converting many to home-delivered meals.

“Closing a site is always a challenge for a community and for a provider because you have to tell someone that they’re not getting something the same way they thought they were going to get it before,” Wood said. “It takes a little bit of time for folks to adjust.”

Minnesota got $6.9 million last under the Older Americans Act, which funds senior programs including congregate and home-delivered meals, and other programs. That money was cut by nearly $500,000, about 7 percent, forcing regional agencies that distribute the money to close sites with declining populations.

The closures will be a big adjustment for many seniors, especially in places like Lewiston, a town of about 1,600 just east of Rochester that doesn’t have a grocery store.

“It’s going to be really sad,” said Gail Schwanbeck, the center’s senior nutrition program manager. Many of them will have food delivered to their homes in the new year, but Schwanbeck worries how the loss of fellowship and conversation will affect them.

The seniors, she said, will have to “go outside of their close-knit community and find the services that they need to stay independent, or move so that they can be as independent as possible, wherever that might be.”

Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mprnews.org

 

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/state/cuts-lead-to-closures-of-senior-meal-programs/article_ea4be7c9-e29b-577c-a3cf-8f327d43f63b.html

 

 

Filed Under: Semcac in the Media

Semcac Updates

Seeking Consultant for Strategic Plan, RFP Deadline Extended- June 9

Semcac is seeking responses to an RFP for our agency Strategic Planning process. Semcac’s strategic plan is a 5-year plan.  View the RFP, here: Strategic Plan RFP due Jun 9 2022 Semcac, a nonprofit Community Action Agency (CAA), is seeking … Continue reading →

New Residential Rehab Program, Albert Lea Homeowners

2022 Flyer A Lea homeowner rehab program

Deadline for Energy Assistance applications- May 31st

MN ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM – Semcac Energy Assistance Program  Deadline to apply for the 2021-2022 season was MAY 31, 2022.   Applications must be postmarked by May 31. There is crisis assistance funds remaining for approved, eligible households until July 1st. … Continue reading →

NEW Program- Vax Van!

Need a ride to or from a vaccine site or appointment? Contact us! Schedule your FREE ride with our latest transportation option- the Vax Van Call Semcac’s Transportation Dispatch main line to reserve your ride: 1-800-528-7622   (#3) The VAX VAN … Continue reading →

AmeriCorps Opportunity – Weatherization & Energy

Help Minnesotans Save with the Home Energy Initiative Nationally, the average household spends about 3.5% of their monthly income on home energy costs, but in Minnesota some families are paying 20-30%. Together we can change this! Semcac is looking for … Continue reading →

Updates Archive »

Twitter & Facebook Feed

  • @Semcac Head Start summer school in Austin is having fun in the sun! https://t.co/PozSnh3z5y https://t.co/fmHeEQpFzQ Yesterday at 10:44 PM

Energy Assistance Program

Energy Assistance Applications were due May 31, 2022

Contact Semcac

(507) 864-7741
8:00 am – 4:30 pm | Mon – Fri
semcac@semcac.org
Contact us using our secure
Semcac Message Center

Friend & Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Register for E-Updates!

Receive the Semcac Sentinel newsletter, enter your email, or text Semcac to 22828

Email Sign-Up

 
Website Privacy Policy

Serving Southeastern Minnesota Counties

Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Winona & Steele | Limited services in Olmsted, Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha & Waseca  View the list of services offered in each county.

750

2021 Annual Report Video

An Equal Opportunity Employer • Member of the Rushford Area Chamber of Commerce
© 2022 Semcac, All Rights Reserved.
Website design & hosting by Vision Design Group, Inc.

Our Web Site is maintained internally by Semcac staff. For comments regarding this web site, contact the Webmaster.