Union County volunteer urges Indian Trail to fund 77 seniors on meals waiting list

Gary Saads, a community volunteer who delivers senior meals in Union County, told the Indian Trail Town Council that the county’s senior nutrition program has 590 seniors on a waiting list and asked the town to help address the backlog for town residents.

Saads said program rules provide five meals a week — hot meals for residents within delivery range and frozen meals for those farther away — and noted distribution sites including the Indian Trail Methodist Church and the Baysmore Center. He told the council he volunteers as a delivery driver and has firsthand knowledge of recipients’ needs, saying the meals “can be a lifeline to some of our seniors that are holding on by their fingernails to keep their homes.”

Saads said Indian Trail currently receives 27 home-delivered meals, 26 congregate meals served at the Methodist Church, and has 77 residents on the county’s waiting list. He asked the town to consider allocating $100,000 in the next budget to cover the cost of serving those 77 vetted and qualified residents, or to use fund balance earlier if the council prefers.

Saads gave the council a breakdown of the waiting list by municipality and offered to provide copies of the county data to staff. He noted the waiting list is dynamic — some recipients lose eligibility because of deteriorating health or death and more applicants are added each month.

The request came during the public comment period; council members did not take a formal vote during the meeting on the $100,000 request. Saads said staff had prepared a report with municipality-level counts and offered to provide it to the council.