Community rallies to revive closed Afton meal site

AFTON - Every Thursday, senior residents of Afton used to congregate at the Afton Community Center for a weekly free, nutritious meal. The time doubled as a place to socialize and learn.

Originally held by Connections Area Agency on Aging, the meal site officially closed on May 1 following an increasing financial strain on the agency. That didn’t stop the people of Afton from stepping up to keep the meal site running.

The Afton Development Corporation appeared before city council Tuesday to request a donation from the city’s Community Betterment Fund. To run the program for a year, the ADC said it needs between $11,500 to $13,000. This includes providing meals, paying the supplier, transporting meals and other costs associated with providing the service to 25-30 older Afton residents a week.

The ADC will pursue other community organizations for funds, including Greater Regional Health and the South Central Iowa Community Foundation, but noted local support from the city would likely encourage donations from alternative sources.

Plans for the new meal site include having meals made and transported from the Wagon Wheel Cafe in Tingley. The meal site in Tingley has also been removed from Connections’ congregate meal site program, but has had their site reopen with support from the community and the Wagon Wheel.

Connections’ difficulties with keeping programs running comes from a lack of funding increases over the past 14-15 years. Connections CEO Kelly Butts-Elston said stretching the dollar while prices and inflation have gone up has led to the community organization making difficult decisions.

“There’s more need in the population that are requesting service,” Butts-Elston said. “The funds don’t go the way they used to. ... We’re trying not to leave any area without proper nutrition. ... Even though we’re not going to fund the center itself, if the city wants to keep the center open and the individuals in the community want to host potlucks, that’s awesome. We’ll support it in any way we can. We just can’t have the funding to provide meals there.”

Butts-Elston said seniors who attended the Afton meal site can receive a Connections Cafe card, which allows seniors to receive a meal at local restaurants across Union County. Within Afton, The Roost is a member of the Connections Cafe program. Other locations include the Wagon Wheel Cafe, Creston’s A&G Restaurant, Orient’s The Dugout Cafe, and Greenfield’s The Olive Branch.

Although Connections can’t fund the meals any longer, Butts-Elston said the agency would still like to provide programming, understanding the importance of the service.

“We really hate [discontinuing the meal site],” Butts-Elston said. “The meal sites were a place for congregation. We hope that continues. We can provide programming that they like, from tai chi or bingo, any kind of programs. ... It is a shame we can’t serve the need entirely. We keep trying.”

Seniors are likely to pay $7 per meal when the program reopens. The Afton Community Center will remain the meal site, with the ADC saying they would still use the location as a social space for seniors from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Council member Steve Kinyon was the first to make the motion to approve $5,000 to help subsidize the program. About $2,800 will be added to the program through the cost per meal, which leaves a matching donation of $5,000 as the last portion needed to fund the program for the next year.

“I want to help them out. That’s what I want to do,” Kinyon said. “It’s kind of hard to go by the seat of our pants on this, but I think that it has to be done.”

The ADC said they expect meals to reopen at the Afton Community Center Thursday, June 4.

Other ADC projects were discussed during Tuesday’s meeting. The community center’s rear door will have a drawable shade installed to block excessive sunlight during evening hours.

The city sign to the south of the St. Edward Catholic Church will be replaced. The replacement sign, funded by the ADC, has already been ordered and will be installed soon.

The council thanked the ADC for painting the city’s public bathrooms at the park square.

“Thanks for all you guys are doing,” Mayor Michelle Burger said. ”You’re doing an amazing job.”