kh #329 12/10/08
FREEHOLDERS AWARD CONTRACTS FOR SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAMS
TOMS RIVER – The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is awarding five contracts totaling almost $2.5 million
that will continue the nutrition program administered by the Ocean County Office of Senior Services in 2009.
Older adults in Ocean County can continue to count on a nutritious meal in addition to outreach services to help
them enjoy their independence and enhanced quality of life.
“Providing seniors with services that are second to none has been a long standing goal of the Board of
Freeholders,” said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari who also serves as chairman of Senior Services.
Four contracts will be awarded to Community Services, Inc. of Ocean County to provide both home-delivered (daily
and weekend/holiday) meals, and congregate meals to older county residents.
“We provide services that are essential to the quality of life for many of our seniors; providing a nutritious
meal and outreach services makes a tremendous difference in the lives of so many,” Vicari said.
According to Jane Maloney, director of the Ocean County Office of Senior Services, under the contracts, Community
Services, Inc. will serve more than 65,000 meals to seniors at their 10 nutrition sites throughout the county in 2009.
“Our home delivered meals program not only provides nutritional support to older adults who may be isolated,
frail or disabled, but it also provides that important personal contact on a daily basis,” Vicari added. “For some, this
is the limited contact they have with what goes on beyond their home, we bring the community to them.”
Another 200,000 meals will be delivered through Community Services’ Home Delivered Meals program to seniors who
are too ill to cook for themselves and have no one to cook for them. The average age for the home delivered meals
participant is 84 years.
“In addition, we have awarded a contract to Community Services, Inc. to provide social support services such as
outreach, benefit screenings, telephone reassurance and transportation services to seniors,” Vicari said.
The congregate meal program has an older, more frail population attending and a significant number of them
require transportation to and from the nutrition site. The average age for a congregate participant is 83 years.
Each year, the Board of Chosen Freeholders award over $5 million for contractual senior programs ranging from
health screenings to transportation and caregiver support as well as education.
The bulk of the 2009 contracts will be awarded in January. The funding comes from a combination of federal,
state sand county sources; however, Vicari expressed a deep concern regarding the lack of funding that continues to
erode these quality of life programs that are so important to seniors.
“Since this past summer, we have been reaching out to Congress to urge emergency funding for these
life-sustaining programs,” Vicari noted.
Funding has not kept pace with the rate of inflation or the growing population of older adults who require
services.
The county’s home delivered meals program and transportation programs are falling victim to these budgetary shortfalls.
Vicari and the Board of Freeholders have pledged to continue their efforts in alerting Congress for the need to take
action.
