PORT ANGELES — Olympic Community Action Programs is bolstering its senior nutrition program across the North Olympic Peninsula to ensure more seniors get the nutrition they need and to provide an opportunity to get out of the house.
Josh Sculley, who prepares meals four days each week at the Port Angeles Senior Center, said there is a big need for the program, which he realized once he started working with OlyCAP in January.
Not only does he prepare meals for OlyCAP’s in Port Angeles, but he said he also works with Home Delivered Nutrition Services and has seen the need first-hand from clients who can’t leave their homes.
“These are just people in need of better nutrition or maybe just food in general,” he said. “Some people are really strained out there, so it’s a really good program for seniors in need.”
In Port Angeles, Sculley serves about 20 people each day. He said numbers were down when he first started, but now people are starting to realize the program is back.
“There’s a lot of people that just don’t know we’re serving yet,” he said.
OlyCAP serves its congregate meals in communities across the North Olympic Peninsula, including at the Port Angeles Senior Center, the Mariner Cafe in Sequim, the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum, the Port Townsend Community Center and Forks Community Hospital.
Sculley said working with OlyCAP has been different than when he worked for restaurants, namely in that he gets to know each of the people he serves and sees many of the same faces each day.
Kim Redmond, nutrition services manager for OlyCAP, said hiring Sculley was part of the nonprofit’s efforts to expand its senior nutrition program and help more seniors across the North Olympic Peninsula.
She said that right now OlyCAP serves about 500 meals per week as part of its home-delivery program and that about 25 to 30 people attend the congregate meals at each of the five sites.
For the congregate meals, she said the goal is both to make sure seniors are getting the nutrition they need, provide some education about nutrition and to provide an opportunity to get out of the house and to spend time with friends.
“A big part of the value is to prevent the isolation and to get people out socializing with their peers,” Redmond said.
She said those who are more than 60 years old are encouraged to provide donations to help fund the meals and that there is an $8 fee for anyone under 60.
The meals, which make up one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowance, are served at 4 p.m. at the Port Angeles Senior Center, the Mariner Cafe in Sequim and at the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum. Meals are served at noon in Forks and Port Townsend.
The program is largely funded through the Olympic Area Agency on Aging, though private donations are needed to keep it running, she said.
To join a meal, one just needs to call ahead and provide at least 24 hours notice that they plan on attending, she said. This is to ensure there is enough food prepared.
There’s some paperwork to fill out for newcomers, which she said helps secure the Olympic Area Agency on Aging funding for the program.
“For them to provide government funding for this program, we have to show there is a need,” Redmond said. Providing that information shows there is a need.
For those who can’t make it to the congregate meals and who can’t leave their homes, they can participate in the home-deliver program.
The meals, prepared by a caterer in Spanaway before being sent to each of the communities, are delivered each week.
OlyCAP’s volunteers often check in with their home-delivery clients to chat and just see how they are doing, she said.
“If the client wants, they’ll come in and put the food in the freezer,” she said. “It helps us keep tabs on people and if they need services we can jump in and help.”
She said some who benefit from the program are those who were recently discharged from a hospital and are home-bound.
Once they are able to leave their homes again, she said they are encouraged to join in for the congregate meals.
For more information, including menus, visit www.olycap.org or call 360-452-4726 for OlyCAP’s Port Angeles office or 360-385-2571 for OlyCAP’s Port Townsend office.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
Josh Sculley, chef for Olympic Community Action Programs, prepares a meal for the nonprofit’s senior nutrition program at the Port Angeles Senior Center. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)
