|
|
Fifty-seven senior citizens representing 42 households visited the Pipestone County Food Shelf Friday, April 12 during its inaugural senior day. Food Shelf President Roger Raschke said the number of seniors exceeded his expectations.
Of those served on senior day, over half of the households had never been registered at the food shelf before and 34 had not been there yet this year. It was also more seniors than typically utilize the food shelf in a given week. For example, 104 seniors had utilized the food shelf during the entire first quarter of this year.
The Pipestone County Food Shelf now offers senior days for those 65 and older. Senior days will be the Fridays after the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Photo by Kyle Kuphal
Food Shelf Communications and Marketing Chair Kristina Schulze said she thought more seniors showed up during the designated senior day than during the regular distribution days due in part to the daunting line that forms during regular distribution days. She said one senior told her she didn’t get out of the house much and that she appreciated the senior day because it was a safe place where she knew someone could help her if she fell. Others seemed to enjoy socializing with other seniors while they were there.
“I think that camaraderie is kind of really what brought a lot of people here today,” Schulze said.
Raschke and Schulze said the Pipestone County Food Shelf Board had been considering having a senior day for almost a year, but didn’t know how to implement it in the food shelf’s previous location due to space limitations. Once the food shelf moved to its new location at the Schroeder Center in March, the board’s goal was to get seniors coming back through the doors.
“The reason that we really pushed for the senior day is because when we generate our reports, we noticed over the years that we’ve slowly been losing that 65 and older threshold and, being who we are, we know that they need it, they just won’t come in for it, so we wanted to offer them a day just for them to come in,” Schulze said.
For those who are not able to come to the food shelf due to mobility issues, Raschke said a neighbor, family friend or a relative could come in on their behalf and pick up food for them.
Senior days are for those 65 and over and will be held on the Fridays after the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, which are produce days, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Schulze said she’s hoping that more seniors will take advantage of senior day as more people hear about it.
Meanwhile, food shelf use overall continues to rise. Just a few years ago during the first quarter of 2021, 757 individuals were served, representing, 218 households, and 25,845 pounds of food were distributed. The numbers have steadily increased each year, reaching 4,379 people served, representing 1,112 households, and 103,808 pounds of food distributed during the first quarter of 2024.
“Volumes are going up considerably,” Raschke said.
Information about how to donate to the food shelf can be found at www.pipestonefoodshelf.com.
