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SEMCAC tells county it delivered thousands of senior meals, housing and energy services and asks for $2,000 in local support
Summary
Jen Hengel and Jeff Wyant of SEMCAC presented program activity in Houston County, reporting senior nutrition service volumes, food-shelf use, weatherization and housing-rehab activity, and requested the same $2,000 county contribution as last year.
Jen Hengel, executive director of Southeast Minnesota Community Action Agency (SEMCAC), and Jeff Wyant, SEMCAC senior services director, updated the Houston County Board on the agency's local programs and outcomes.
Hengel told commissioners SEMCAC operates energy assistance, weatherization and housing-rehabilitation loan programs in Houston County, plus two Head Start partnerships with local school districts and an outreach center with a food shelf in Caledonia. She said the agency weatherized 10 Houston County homes in the most recent fiscal year and provided housing-rehab loans for income-eligible households.
Wyant described the agency's senior nutrition programs. "We served 10,500 nutritious meals to 184 seniors in the congregate dining locations across the county," he said, and added that SEMCAC's home-delivered meals program supplied "a little over 23,000 meals" last year. Wyant said congregate dining helps reduce social isolation and that home-delivered meals provide a daily wellness check for homebound clients.
Hengel also described transportation services: a dial-a-ride public transit bus (curb-to-curb service requiring 24-hour notice), a volunteer driver program and caravan transportation for medical appointments. Wyant and Hengel said the volunteer-driver program is in greater need of volunteers; the public transit bus cannot cross state lines under Minnesota Department of Transportation rules, so long-distance connections require transfers at La Crescent.
Hengel said SEMCAC served more than 300 households at its Caledonia food shelf last year and that food security remains a top need in local assessments. The agency asked the county for the same local contribution it received in the previous year and told commissioners its request in the current packet is $2,000.
Board members asked about anticipated demand if a nearby clinic closed; SEMCAC said its transit and volunteer programs likely would see increased demand but that volunteer-driver availability is the main limiting factor. SEMCAC also told the board it had used CARES and ARPA funds that had fixed spending windows and therefore could not be retained indefinitely.
Commissioners thanked SEMCAC for the update and declined to take an immediate funding vote during the meeting; SEMCAC indicated the $2,000 request will be part of usual budget considerations.
