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County Council Steps Up for Seniors

Blog

June 9, 2017

For the last decade or so, Senior Resources has maintained a waiting list for its Meals on Wheels service. We simply didn’t have enough funding to meet the needs in the community. Although we worked hard to secure additional funding from a variety of sources, as the senior population grew, so did our waiting list.  At its peak a few months ago, there were more than 300 seniors waiting to receive food from our Meals on Wheels program.

Our efforts to meet the community’s need has included advocacy and education, making sure that our elected officials are aware of the waiting list and the impact on seniors. Richland County Council recognized the need and responded in a big way.  With its 2017-2018 budget, the Council gave additional funding to Senior Resources that will eliminate the current waiting list for Meals on Wheels.  With this additional funding from Richland County, we will be able to meet one of the most basic human needs — food — for approximately 20% more seniors than are currently served.

The impact from this increased funding from Richland County is huge for our community’s seniors.  Councilmen Greg Pearce and Jim Manning led efforts to secure the additional funding.   We thank these Councilmen and the other Council members for ensuring that our seniors are not forgotten.  We hope that you will also thank them when you have a chance.