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Elderbridge warns of falling funding, plans wait lists for Kossuth County meal services
Summary
Sandy Jackson of Elderbridge told county officials that federal funding for senior nutrition and home-delivery programs has declined; the agency said it will implement wait lists and tiers by July 1 to prioritize those at greatest risk, and described current meal volumes and food-box operations.
Sandy Jackson, chief operating officer of Elderbridge, told Kossuth County officials that the nonprofit’s funding has dropped substantially and the agency will implement wait lists and tiered service levels to prioritize home-delivered meals for the most at-risk residents.
"My name is Sandy Jackson, and I'm the chief operating officer with Elderbridge, based out of Mason City," Jackson said as she introduced the agency’s budget request and described programs that serve older residents across 29 counties. Jackson said the agency’s mission is "to support people aging in place and living at home as long as feasibly possible."
Jackson warned that available federal funds have fallen in recent fiscal years and described an ongoing reduction in the agency’s total budget; she said the decline requires new prioritization. "Because of the directive from the state aging unit," Jackson said, the agency is preparing to implement formal wait lists and tiers of service by July 1 so those most likely to face institutionalization are served first.
An Elderbridge representative reported operational volumes for Kossuth County: about 50–65 home-delivered meals daily from the senior center, additional walk-in meals (about 20 per day on site) and monthly food-box distributions that bring roughly 70 boxes to the county. "Without your funding, it would be impossible," the representative said, describing the mix of home delivery, on-site meals and food-box runs supported by paid staff and volunteers.
Jackson provided rough figures during the meeting: she said FY25 funds had declined from amounts she cited as roughly $8.35 million to $6.86 million, with a projection near $6.4 million for the current year. She also said the agency provided roughly $156,000 in services in Kossuth County against approximately $15,000 in county funding. The transcript contained inconsistent numeric phrasing; these amounts are summarized from Jackson’s statements rather than independently verified.
County members and staff asked operational questions, including whether drivers are volunteers or paid; Elderbridge said some drivers receive stipends. Officials also worked through monthly-service arithmetic and discussed per-capita figures and the per-person request for the coming year. Jackson said the agency will prioritize cases based on intake information provided by each meal site and will supply rosters to sites to help with local prioritization.
The meeting concluded with routine business. A motion to adjourn, moved by Wacker and seconded by Oz, carried after members said "aye," and the session ended at 09:44.
Next steps: Elderbridge said it will finalize its wait-list and tier policies to meet the state aging unit’s directive before July 1; county officials may be asked to consider per-capita funding decisions as part of their FY budgeting process.
