Senior food service closes: Agency delivers 900 meals daily in S.J. County

By Zachary K. Johnson

Jun. 12, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- STOCKTON -- A charity serving seniors in San Joaquin County for four decades is closing its doors.

Facing $500,000 in debt and an uncertain future, the board of directors overseeing Seniors First decided Tuesday night to cease operations, officials said.

Administrators of the organization -- also called the Senior Service Agency of San Joaquin County -- said it would work with state and local officials to help senior citizens weather the transition.

County officials pledged to step in, beginning Monday, to provide the nearly 900 meals served by the agency every weekday. The nutrition programs deliver food to group dining sites as well as to homes through a service commonly called Meals on Wheels.

Though the agency's main focus has been its nutrition programs, the fallout from its collapse will be more widespread, from its 70 employees to the student cooks preparing meals in vocational programs to the seniors who rely on a host of services.

The future of the John J. McFall Senior Citizens Center remains uncertain. The downtown Stockton hub of the agency houses its administrative offices, as well as a dining hall and day care programs for seniors, including those with Alzheimer's disease.

It also provides entertainment and a place for seniors to gather and socialize.

Seniors First will not be able to keep McFall Center open past the end of June, said Jack Mossman, interim chief executive officer of Seniors First. The nonprofit terminated its day care programs last week.

But dozens of seniors still came to the center Wednesday morning to play cards, chat with friends or dance to golden oldies being played by a disc jockey as they waited for their midday meal. On busy days, the center would draw crowds of as many as 80 people, according to staff.

Seniors describe the center as an integral part of their lives. "It's important to get exercise. Not to be lonely at home. To communicate with other seniors. To have fun," said Alice Flores, 68, who still was catching her breath after dancing to the disco standard, YMCA. "I don't ask for much, just to have a place to go."

She wasn't the only person sad upon hearing the news, she said. "It's like we're being forgotten."

As of Wednesday afternoon, the center still was set to serve meals at the McFall Center on Monday when the county takes control of nutrition programs, according to county government officials. The county is developing a plan this week and is evaluating each of the 16 dining sites. Seniors receiving home delivery will receive frozen meals to heat up in microwave or conventional ovens, instead of the hot meals that were once provided through Seniors First.

Mossman, the nonprofit's top executive, said the agency is developing transition plans for seniors and is attempting to place employees in other jobs.

The county is reaching out to other licensed providers to care for the seniors from the day care program, but the process to enter into a new contract can take weeks.

Some seniors fall into the jurisdiction of the state agencies, such as the California Department of Aging. Seniors First is required to develop a transition plan to place seniors in other licensed facilities, and the state can help, spokeswoman Sarah Ludeman said.

The nonprofit gave several reasons why it has struggled.

"There is not just one culprit," Mossman said. Food, labor and fuel costs have risen steeply, and the funding system is "fatally flawed," he said.

The agency matches payments from the county with resources and cash from contributions, Mossman said. But donations are hard to solicit in a struggling economy, he said, adding that the agency has had generous donors, but new donors don't want to give money just to pay down debt. Other potential donors assume Seniors First is a government agency, not a nonprofit, and therefore won't open their checkbooks, he said.

Also, the suggested donation for a delivered meal is $2, but the average donation is 67 cents, said Jonathan Quinn, development administrator. That difference adds up to $200,000 a year, he said. And the agency this year did not win $70,000 in Community Development Block Grants that it has received in past years through Stockton, Lodi and the county, he said.

The agency's board of directors is set to meet weekly while closing the books and developing a transition plan for its seniors.

"There's nobody in this organization that does not have heart for those people," Board President Steve Henshaw said Wednesday at the McFall Center.

Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0186-25945437