Meal program for seniors is back on track

Tara Albert / Sierra Star Correspondent

(Updated: Thursday, July 09, 2009, 6:20 PM)

The economy has affected everyone and Sierra Senior Center, operated by the Sierra Senior Society, is no exception.

Jerry Ongman, a former officer of the Senior Center, said the meals program was severely cut back for a couple of months. The meals are provided by the Madera City Parks Recreation Department, but for a while, they were only able to provide the Senior Center with meals for three nights per week instead of the regular five.

Ongman said the Sierra Senior Society picked up the slack, preparing the meals themselves for two nights a week every week for the two months -- no easy feat. During this period, the Senior Center had to charge people $2 per meal, instead of the suggested donation of $1.75, just to make ends meet, Ongman said.

The program is now back on track, with the usual five nights a week of meals provided by the Madera City Parks Recreation Department, but Ongman is not convinced it will last long.

"I have a feeling there's more coming," Ongman said. "But so far we've been very lucky."

Ongman said the center is in need of many repairs, but does not have adequate funding to get all of the damages fixed.

"We're always in need of a lot of things," Ongman said. "Our roof is getting old and it's not going to be long before we need a new one."

Ongman said the building also needs to be painted inside and outside. Rotting wood needs to be replaced and the parking lot needs to be resurfaced.

Ruth Schiller, president of the Sierra Senior Society, said the heating and air conditioning unit has also had a lot of problems and needs to be repaired.

Schiller said the Senior Center is trying to get a $45,000 grant from The Community Grant Program of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians to help fund the repairs. Ongman said the Senior Center will contribute an additional $10,000 of its own in money and labor to contribute to the overall funding of the maintenance.

The Senior Center has recently added another day of Bingo, so the game is now offered every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon as well as at noon on the first and second Saturday of each month.

Schiller said the Saturday games of Bingo are the biggest fundraiser for the Senior Center. The money is used for upkeep on the Senior Center and to fund philanthropic programs, such as giving to needy families during the holidays, Schiller said.

In addition to Bingo, the Senior Center opens its doors from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for people trying to escape the summer heat.

"Our center is a cooling center now that we're into this really hot weather," Schiller said.

Only time will tell, but hopefully funds will be provided to allow the Senior Center to continue serving the community.

"We're just trying to be a good neighbor," Ongman said.