Countywide : Meals for Elderly Program Rescued

A nutrition program that was almost halted temporarily by a $200,000 deficit will continue serving meals to the elderly as a result of recent donations received from the county and cities, the executive director said Wednesday.

Feedback Foundation Inc., which feeds about 2,500 elderly Orange County residents each day, announced last month that it would have to close nutrition sites for the month of June unless the county and local cities came to its aid.

Last week, the County Board of Supervisors pledged $100,000 and individual cities have committed amounts from $1,000 to $22,000, according to executive director Shirley A. Cohen. Over the next couple of weeks, other cities are expected to pledge financial support.

“We’re OK, we won’t have to close in June,” Cohen said. “I’m very grateful for the cities’ and the county’s support.”

Still, the organization is reeling from the shortfall, which Cohen said was a result of a 14% increase in food costs at a time when federal funding is static and participant donations have taken a sharp drop.

The organization sent letters dated April 30 to 13 cities and the county asking for financial aid. Cities were asked to donate based upon the number of their residents who benefit from the program. Santa Ana, for example, which has 164,112 residents who receive food from Feedback each year, was asked to donate $22,000. Fountain Valley, which is estimated to have 5,000 residents who will use the service during the 1989-90 fiscal year, was asked to give $1,000.

In some cases, cities have rushed to get their checks to the organization in time, Cohen said. Santa Ana and Anaheim, for example, quickly issued checks for $22,000 and $17,000, respectively.

“Some of the cities have been wonderful,” she said. “When a city rushes a check like that, it’s pretty neat.”

Feedback Foundation was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1967. Its first project was a school and summer lunch program for low-income Santa Ana children. When the Santa Ana school system took over the school lunch program in 1973, the foundation phased out its children’s lunch service and began a program to provide nutrition for the elderly. The program was expanded in the mid-1970s when the federal government began funding a separate home-delivered meals program.

Currently, Feedback Foundation, one of three county nutrition programs, serves about 1,700 seniors in group programs and 800 housebound residents each day, Cohen said. The food is cooked in a central kitchen in Anaheim and delivered by truck or van to community centers and homes. The foundation asks for a $1.35 per meal donation when possible. However, 67% of the clients have incomes below the poverty level.