Senior Dining impacted by high cost of food

     It was Lisa Tallman’s turn to provide her department update to the Jones County Supervisors during their Oct. 11 board meeting. Tallman is the director of Senior Dining, and has been with the program for 18 years.

   With the cost of food still on the rise, Tallman said she is spending a quarter to a half more on food compared to pre-COVID.

   The same can be said for the price of gas.

   “Transportation is higher than anticipated, too,” she told the board.

   Supervisor John Schlarmann asked if Heritage Area Agency on Aging was supplementing more for the price of food.

   Tallman said no; she still receives $3.51 per meal. And she estimates that a meal now costs her about $8.40.

   In addition to the county funding, Tallman does receive funding from the cities as well, which is based on the number of meals projected to be served. Those who attend Senior Dining offer a voluntary contribution.

   “Contributions make a difference everywhere,” Tallman noted.

   Senior Dining also hosts fundraisers throughout the year at Fareway in Anamosa and through “Dining Dollars.”

   “I’m doing fairly well on numbers,” she said of seeing a return of the clients.

   Tallman said it helps having fresh produce from HACAP for the clients to take with them as well.

   Supervisor Ned Rohwedder explained that in the past, any contributions Senior Dining received went to Heritage. A few years ago, that changed, and now Senior Dining gets to keep all of their own donations.

   “It stays in Jones County, which is a big help,” he said. “People are more willing to donate because it goes to the local program.”

   Senior Dining maintains sites in Monticello, Anamosa, and Wyoming. Monticello and Anamosa are five days a week; Wyoming, twice a month.

   There used to be a site in Oxford Junction. Tallman said the community is working to revive the program and get more people involved.

   “It dropped down significantly,” Tallman said of the OJ numbers. “But we do drop off frozen meals.”

   The Monticello Senior Dining site is expected to reopen soon following the need to hire a new site manager. Tallman said while she received “very little interest” in the position, she feels she has a decent candidate.

   “The job market is not good,” she said. “Within a week or so, Monticello should be open again.”

   “People are missing it,” Supervisor Joe Oswald commented.

   While Heritage is not able to increase their funding of the program, Tallman noted they did purchase several pieces of kitchen equipment for the Anamosa site, where all of the meals are prepared.