Nutrition program serves thousands across the county
Service thrives after being taken over by local agencies, cities
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

DOING LUNCH- Peggy Cooper of Simi Valley picks up cartons of milk before being served lunch at the Senior Center on Wednesday. The meal is part of the center's thriving nutrition program. WENDY PIERRO Acorn Newspapers

Senior nutrition programs across the county have been thriving since cities and other agencies took over operations from the county some 30 months ago.

In April 2005, the Ventura County Human Services Agency handed over to cities and other agencies the lunch program that provided meals to thousands of seniors.

Since that time, the programs have experienced an increase, not necessarily because there are more hungry seniors, but because the new operators have an appreciation for the human touch, said Victoria Jump, director of the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging.

The countywide agency supplies the food to the locally-run senior nutrition programs. The cities and other agencies that operate the program provide the meal sites and staff, some of whom are volunteers.

All 10 Ventura County cities are home to at least one collective meal site; some also deliver meals to homebound elderly. Seniors are asked but not required to make a small donation for the meal.

Jump said that 12 percent more seniors countywide participated in the meal programs in 2006 than in 2005.

She credits the increase to the aesthetic changes the cities have made to their nutrition program. Many of the operators redecorated or remodeled their dining rooms and improved the quality of the food. Instead of eating warmed up frozen dinners, seniors often eat fresh meals prepared onsite.

"The numbers show that what they're doing is working," Jump said.

Simi Valley

The $8.9-million expansion of the Senior Center was planned long before the city took over the nutrition program. But the remodeling project and 12,000squarefoot addition, completed in December 2005, only added to the welcoming atmosphere that has made the program grow, Director Laurie Dickinson said.

In 2005, about 88 meals a day were served at the center and to homebound seniors. Now, some 75 seniors a day show up for lunch and meals delivered to another 60 seniors. Some months as many as 3,000 meals are served, Dickinson said.

"We're very customer-service oriented," Dickinson said. "We look at them as our customers- I think that makes a difference."

The atmosphere at the center is designed to be inviting, she said. Atop every table is a vase handcrafted by the center's ceramics class.

More tables and chairs were added to the patio- a popular dining spot with seniors during the summer.

Most days seniors enjoy live entertainment, including a live band on Fridays when some of the center's staff joins the seniors on the dance floor.

Dickinson said making the public aware of the meal program through a senior newsletter that's distributed throughout the city has also contributed to the increase.

The Simi Valley Senior Center serves meals Monday through Friday. For more information, call (805) 583-6363.