Iowa volunteers bring food and friendship - Polk County's Commodity Supplemental Food Program

Food and Nutrition, Fall, 1988 by Craig Forman

An 82-year-old woman opens the door of her fourth floor apartment in Des Moines, Iowa, with a smile and a warm welcome to her visitor. Unable to get out to do her own grocery shopping, and living on a fixed income, she and about 2,700 other elderly shut-ins in Polk County benefit from a volunteer delivery program organized by officials of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) there.

About 200 volunteers from various charitable organizations, plus individuals and groups such as Kiwanis, American Legion, and local churches make bimonthly deliveries of CSFP food packages to elderly recipients who are old, infirm, or physically unable to leave their homes. Of 4,700 Des Moines area residents who benefit from this USDA program, about 57 percent rely upon the kindness of volunteers to deliver the 45-pound food package every other month.

Typical of the comments that come back to Polk County CSFP manager Velma Flisher is the call from a new recipient who was especially thankful for fruit juice she received. Even though the woman lived only four blocks from the supermarket, she was unable to carry heavy cans of juice up three flights of stairs to her apartment.

The CSFP food package distributed to elderly clients is modified somewhat to meet their dietary needs. Volunteer Adelaide Carpenter interviews homebound clients and determines what changes are needed in the basic food package.

The package includes canned fruits and vegetables; canned meat and poultry; evaporated milk, nonfat dry milk, and butter; several different types of fruit juices; egg mix; farina; corn meal; peanut butter or dry beans; and dehydrated potatoes or rice. Egg mix is eliminated if the client has a high cholesterol problem, for example, and nonfat dry milk is not given out to elderly clients with an intolerance to milk.

Maryann Juhl is in charge of the volunteer delivery program in Polk County. Volunteers not only serve the Des Moines metropolitan area, but also several small towns in the county about 576 square miles in all.

Elderly participants must be age 60 or older and have income that is not more than 130 percent of federal poverty level. Juhl says living conditions for program recipients are generally very poor. "They live on fixed incomes, are usually in poor health, non -ambulatory and live alone," she says.

Volunteers are visitors too

For many shut-ins, CSFP volunteers may be the only visitors they see in their homes. Many volunteers purposely extend their visits by spending time putting away groceries in cupboards. All are trained to recognize whether clients are in need of additional assistance. Clients who do are referred to other agencies that can extend care, medical benefits, or Social Security payments. They are given an emergency phone number that they can call if they have health problems or fall and injure themselves.

"We once got a call from a patient on home leave from the veteran's hospital:' Flisher recalls. "He said he was sitting in his living room and the water was up to his ankles. A pipe had burst and the elderly gentleman didn't know what to do. We called the fire department and stayed on the line to keep him calm and let him know help was coming."

To eliminate the anxiety of opening their doors to strangers, clients are called in advance of each CSFP delivery. They are told who will be coming and the approximate time they will arrive. This also allows clients to plan their day accordingly.

Forty-eight different agencies participate in the volunteer delivery operation. Some group living sites make deliveries for their tenants after the Polk County delivery van drops off a bulk shipment at the apartment building or group home for the elderly. United Way, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, veterans' groups, and several churchaffiliated volunteers aid in the effort to see that tons of food are delivered to shut-in recipients.

The Polk County CSFP operates out of a commercial warehouse that doubles as a certification center and distribution site. In January 1989, the site will be moved to a former supermarket across from a Des Moines senior citizen center Adjacent to the center will be a health clinic to serve both the elderly and expectant mothers.

The CSFP distribution site will be converted to a supermarket concept where recipients "shop" for their food packages. The self-service approach will allow able-bodied clients to assemble their own packages from a prescribed list of food items available from CSFP Once they've filled their order, they will check out through a register that records items in their package.

Putting emphasis on nutrition

Polk County Extension Service has been an active participant in the nutrition education phase of CSFP They routinely provide brochures for delivery with food packages and conduct information sessions at group homes on good nutrition practices.

Videotapes developed by FOCUS Hope, which runs the elderly feeding program in Detroit, will be shown to clients who come to the distribution site to pick up their food package. With failing health an everyday reality proper diet is an essential factor in maintain ing resistance to illnesses and providing the right nutrients every day.