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Community Action urges reinstatement of daily hot meals and wellness checks for homebound seniors
Summary
Lisa Evans, executive director of Community Action of Valley County, asked the council to consider a resolution and receive a presentation to reinstate daily hot home‑delivered meals and daily wellness checks for homebound seniors, citing poverty and isolation among older residents; a county commissioner said the county switched vendors to frozen meals but maintained wellness checks under contract.
"We're asking this council for the opportunity to come back and present a little bit more about, and I would hope and ask after that presentation that you would vote to pass a resolution for the reinstatement of daily hot home delivered meals and daily wellness checks on our seniors," Lisa Evans said during public comment. Evans identified herself as executive director of Community Action of Valley County and said her organization has operated a home‑delivered meals program in Allegan County for about 20 years.
Evans described program impacts: regular visits that "lay eyes on our seniors every day," findings of disoriented seniors in winter conditions and repeated instances where callers needed emergency assistance. She told council the local senior population includes households in poverty and many who are asset‑limited, and said daily contact promotes safety and independent living.
Scott Beltman, a county commissioner, addressed the same topic and said two boards had reviewed the program and the county moved to a frozen‑meal vendor while keeping wellness checks in the contract. Beltman suggested savings from the vendor change might be redirected to strengthen daily wellness checks: "They're still gonna do the wellness checks ... maybe we can take some of this money that we save by using this new vendor to have better access and have those better checks every day," he said.
Evans said she had passed an FAQ and a draft resolution to the clerk and asked for an opportunity to return with fuller information. Council did not debate the substance at length during public comment; staff and commissioners indicated the issue will be raised for future consideration.
