Meal delivery during the pandemic
As we continue through the COVID-19 pandemic, we realize that this is not going to be a short sprint but rather a marathon. Like any skilled marathoner will tell you, it is not about speed or a fast start, but rather, pacing is key.
At the onset of the stay-at-home order in Minnesota, we found that many older adults were doing well, as they had prepared for this eventuality of sheltering in place like other states. The story has changed after entering the second month of the stay-at-home order. Personal stockpiles are now running low, freezer space is becoming abundant and folks are beginning to make return calls to home-delivered meal providers.
I want to assure everyone that the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging has prepared for this to occur, and we have been working with home-delivered meal providers in Southwest Minnesota. In our frequent meetings, we discuss how current meal production and delivery are going and look to the future to find areas of improvement. (A previously identified need was fulfilled by the wonderful transit providers in our area who stepped up to assist with meal deliveries.)
The home-delivered meal providers who MNRAAA works with under the Older Americans Act, Prairie 5 and Lutheran Social Services, have been reporting an average increase of 35 percent in meals over the past month and they are ready to provide more. In 2019, roughly 390,000 meals were provided to older adults throughout southwest Minnesota. The first-quarter numbers for 2020 show a slight increase, and preliminary numbers for April indicate a further growth that we expect to continue into May and June. As mentioned earlier, this growth is something that we have been preparing for and are ready to assist with as needed. MNRAAA will be here to serve our family, friends and neighbors to the finish line and beyond.
If you or someone you know may benefit from home-delivered meals, please contact the Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433 to find a home-delivered meal provider in your area.
Jason W. Swanson,
Executive Director MNRAAA
Don’t forget about the climate
This year’s 50th anniversary of Earth Day was overshadowed by the urgent news about COVID-19, but we shouldn’t let the day slip by unnoticed. It’s worthwhile to look back 50 years to see what has changed (a timeline can be seen at History.com).
Notably, Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring documented the negative environmental effects of widespread pesticide use; and in 1969 chemical pollutants floating on Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire. Concern about these and several other issues led to the first Earth Day, April 22nd, 1970, which struck a chord so moving that it’s been observed every year since, eventually worldwide.
The 1970s became the “decade of the environment.” The Environmental Protection Agency was formed during the Nixon presidency; ethanol replaced lead as the octane-booster in gasoline; the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act have greatly improved the purity of the air we breathe and the water we drink.
We all need to work hard to preserve these and other environmental gains of the last 50 years. Beyond that, action is needed on lingering issues such as the lead that is found in some municipal water supplies and the remaining air pollution which aggravates asthma.
One chemical, carbon dioxide, escaped notice in the 1970s since it doesn’t directly affect human health. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is essential as food for plants but it also functions as the world’s thermostat – too little leads to ice ages, too much leads to warming.
At present the levels are high and rising, resulting in gradual global warming which leads to sea level rise and more frequent severe storms, among other bad effects. It’s within the power of humanity to slow or stop this developing crisis. We earnestly hope that the 2020s will become known as the “decade of the climate.”
Earl Knutson, Willmar, and Kay Slama, Spicer
Members of Willmar Area Climate Action Group
