October 10, 2009 - Traill County Tribune

Page 2 • October 10, 2009
Traill County Tribune
Meal program, outreach assistance help senior citizens in Traill County
by Shelia R. Anderson
There’s always an open invitation
for the seniors, those 60 years
young and their spouses, to enjoy
meals provided by the Traill County
Senior Services.
It’s a meat-and-potato style
meal; the kind seniors grew up with
and like here in the area. Menus are
available in advance and the only
requirement is that reservations
should be made at least one day
ahead. Oh, and that you are 60 years
of age or older.
The meals are a time for socializing
for the seniors, a time to visit
with friends and neighbors, meet
those from other communities and
just have an outing. They connect
with others, find common interests
that may lead to new or stronger
friendships, or activities they can
do together such as music, crafts,
games or puzzles. A bond develops
over lunch and coffee that continues
and spills into other aspects of their
lives. It’s almost like another family
circle.
Cook Jennifer Dunkin knows
what the seniors like and prepares
the food in the style much the same
way they would if they made it
themselves. Although she has a set
menu that all sites are asked to follow,
she may make some changes
because she knows her guests so
well, according to Paul Grindeland,
director of transportation for the
Fargo Senior Services, which oversees
Traill County Senior Services.
“Jennifer was a natural for the job
of cook when the position became
open,” said Brian Arett, executive
director of Fargo Senior Services.
She had worked at the Country
Hearth in Hillsboro and filled in at
the senior center on occasion. “She
did a fantastic job, knew the system
and applied when the job opened,”
Arett elaborated.
Dunkin prepares an average of
100 meals for the noon lunch at
Hillsboro, Mayville and Portland. A
typical meal would be a meat, potatoes,
a vegetable and some type of
dessert, usually fruit-based, such as
apple or rhubarb crisp, peach or berry.
The main meal is accompanied
by bread, butter, milk and/or coffee.
Holidays are recognized with special
meal treats, perhaps turkey and
all the trimmings for Thanksgiving
or Christmas, ham for Easter, something
green for St. Patrick’s Day,
or red, white and blue for Independence
Day. All meals are nutritionally
balanced with the menu prepared
by Jenny Marhula, the Fargo
Senior Services dietitian, who is a
LRD and a CDE.
The meals are prepared in the
Hillsboro Senior Center and then
trucked by Deb Kyllo to the Mayville
or Portland Center, depending
on the day of the week. Mayville
has meals on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays and Portland on
Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hillsboro
provides a senior meal five days a
week.
Each site has a manager; in Mayville
it is Marg Knudson, in Portland,
Betty Kampt, and in Hillsboro it is
Myrt Baukol, who as office person
PHOTO BY MATT THOMPSON
Myrt Baukal and Jennifer Dunkin prepare to serve meals at the Senior Center in Hillsboro. Brian Arett, executive director of Fargo Senior Services,
said Dunkin “was a natural for the job of cook.”
is also the transportation coordinator
for the transportation service
and helps with the meal services in
Hillsboro. The Finley Cafe is the
only site in Steele County providing
senior meals.
In addition to the congregate
meals at the three sites, meals are
also delivered by volunteers to those
who qualify to receive home delivery.
The number of home-delivered
meals is pretty stable day-to-day,
about 35 at present. “The meals on
wheels is for those seniors who can’t
get out or prepare food in their own
homes. The service provides nutritional
meals and a way for seniors
to remain in their own homes,” according
to Gail Berg, Traill County
Outreach Worker, who determines
the eligibility for home meals. With
the home-delivered meals, someone
is coming to their homes a couple
times a week, checking on them in
person and providing a contact with
the outside community and world,
she added.
Senior Services cannot charge
for meals. Payment is based on
the ability to pay and a donation of
PHOTO BY MATT THOMPSON
Gail Berg in her office in the Mayville Senior Center. Berg works with
seniors and connects them with services that allow them to stay in their
homes instead of having to move to an assisted living facility.
$3.50 is suggested for each meal.
Food stamps (Electronic Benefit
Card) are also accepted. No one is
seated to watch the donation box or
to make change, it is strictly on the
honor system - pay if you can. The
only requirement is a sign-in sheet
that provides the staff with the number
of people served at each location
each day.
The financial difference between
the actual cost of the meals and the
donations is provided by the Older
American Act, a program begun in
the mid-1960s designed to provide
nutritional meals and other services
for those 60 years of age and older.
The senior meals program also accepts
donations from service organizations,
businesses and individuals.
The program can accept fresh
food items - garden produce such
as potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage,
etc., but it must be fresh and
not home- canned.
While senior meals is probably
the best known of all the senior services,
the program offers several
others to provide assistance to all
seniors.
Outreach assistance is available
through Gail Berg, who connects
the seniors with other services to
help them continue to live in their
homes and maintain quality of life.
“It may be helping them get dentures
or hearing aids, some personal
cares or homemaking assistance,”
she said. “They want to stay in their
own homes.” The goal is to stay out
of the nursing homes and outreach
assistance works toward that goal
whenever possible. Berg visits seniors
in their homes and makes an
assessment as to which services
may be needed. She maintains an
office in the Mayville Senior Center
and a senior may contact her there;
also, referrals may be made by anyone
and may remain anonymous.
Berg’s counterpart in Steele County
is Dee Lia Baldwin.
Transportation is another service
for seniors throughout the counties
of Traill and Steele. Rides are
provided for personal errands such
as medical visits, shopping, nursing
home visits and to senior centers.
Seniors often schedule medical
visits around the bus schedules
to Grand Forks, Fargo and Valley
City/Jamestown. The transportation
schedule for Steele and Traill counties
is printed in the monthly newsletter
and available at the counties’
senior centers. The bus is wheelchair
lift equipped. A fee of $6.00
per ride for out-of-county rides and
$2.00 for in-county rides is charged.
Those seeking to use the transportation
service are asked to call ahead
to the Hillsboro office for a reservation
or appointment. Bus and van
drivers are Hank Geray of Hillsboro,
Paul Norgaard of Finley and Joyce
Whitmore in Steele County.
Senior Society, the monthly
newsletter of Traill/Steele County
Senior Services, provides information
about each of the senior programs,
the bus schedule, the footcare
schedule and phone numbers
for contacting each of the services.
There is usually an article by the
dietitian that offers advice on the
foods we eat, along with hints on
the purchase and preparation to provide
the most nutrition.
“We offer many services to the
seniors of Traill and Steele counties,”
said Grindeland “and we need
to get the word out. We’re here to
help all of them.”
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