A Hot Meal with Good Company

Every weekday at noon, seniors gather at the Sussex Community Center to visit with friends and share a good meal.

“We have three goals with our senior dining program – to provide a nutritious meal, opportunity for socializing and nutrition education to keep people living healthy and independently,” said Mary Smith, Health and Nutrition Supervisor at Waukesha County’s Aging and Disability Resource Center.

In 2010, ADRC served about 170,000 meals for seniors through their 10 dining sites, including the Sussex Community Center and Meals on Wheels.

Once a month, ADRC offers a nutrition education presentation during lunch at the community center.  On Wednesday, Katy Maas, a Nutrition Educator with the University of Wisconsin Extension came with intern Courtney Salter, a Dietetic Technician student at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Salter talked with the seniors about the importance of drinking enough water, and how to get more fluids in your diet. 

“In this internship I’ve been learning how to alter lessons to engage different age groups,” Salter said. “We want to facilitate dialogues so people can participate and ask questions.”

Throughout the year Maas covers topics such as food safety, nutrition, community resources and how to save money when grocery shopping.

The Senior Dining program is federally funded through the Older Americans Act.  Participants are able to give a suggested $4 donation to offset the costs of the food and staff.  Subsidized transportation to and from the center is available for $1 each way.

“The food is always good, I really like the barbecue chicken and the sweet and sour meatballs,” participant Joan Rich said.

About 100 seniors in Sussex benefit from this program, which serves about 25 lunches each weekday at the community center.  All residents older than 60 years old from Waukesha County regardless of financial need are welcome to reserve a spot for whatever days they would like to come to lunch. 

 “I used to cook, but I don’t want to all the time anymore,” participant Arline Dillon said. 

In addition to enjoying the lunches at the senior community center, Dillon also comes once a week to pack lunches for the 35 seniors in the area who receive food delivered to their homes. 

“After having knee surgery I had food delivered through the Meals on Wheels program,” participant Joanne Reszczynski said. “The food is the same as at the community center and the drivers are really nice people.”

ADRC is looking for more volunteer drivers to deliver meals to homebound individuals.  Drivers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license. 

The department is also looking for volunteers to be friendly visitors, greeters at Waukesha County Courthouse, Elder Reach home assessments, help in the office and help seniors with outdoor yard work and painting.

To reserve your spot for lunch or to volunteer - call ADRC at 262-548-7826.