Winfield loses Congregate Meals

As they say, “All good things must come to an end” and one of the good things that has been a Winfield service for over 40 years will end mid-February. Congregate Meals, a once thriving social event, will no longer be offered to Winfield residents. Why, probably because of a combination of reasons; lack of attendance, less government funding, cost increases in products, all affect the cost of preparing and delivering meals.

The first congregate meal was served just over 40 years ago on April 16, 1984 at a recommended cost of $1.25. No one was turned away for lack of money and the donations were confidential. However, there was, and continued to be, the misunderstanding, that Congregate Meals were for only low-income individuals.

That was not, and never has been, true. Everyone over 60 years old was welcome to attend. The purpose was to serve a nutritious, low-cost meal in a restaurant-like social setting. And for many years the meals were secondary to the active social life with a variety of entertainment offered at the site.

Ninety-one-year-old Winfield resident Rose Custer, a long-time Congregate Meals participant recalls when people came early to play cards, to work on a puzzle or maybe just to visit. The site also hosted speakers on various subjects, demonstrations of exercises, dances, and speakers on health issues. It was a lively place where folks came early to play and stayed later to visit.

Each table seated eight people and it wasn’t unusual to have three tables full plus a few diners at the fourth table. Where did everyone go? Sadly, some passed away, some moved away, and some were no longer able to attend. For years meals were delivered to shut-ins. It wasn’t unusual to have upwards of 14 meals that were delivered by volunteers. The meals were tucked into large, insulated bags to ensure they would arrive at their destination at the proper temperature.

Several organizations in town took turns delivering the meals, usually taking a month at a time. The delivery of meals also has ceased. In the end, only two or three were delivered, and gone were the bulky insulated bags-replaced by simple plastic bags. It only took a short time to deliver the meals, and it wasn’t long enough to affect the temperature of the meals. Winfield still has a large population of people over 60, but few “newcomers” show interest in the service. Now there are rarely more than ten, and that is a good day. Six to eight is the average and sometimes as few as five. Not enough to support the program. There are no longer any meals delivered.

The program began to take shape in February of 1984 when some representatives from the Southeast Iowa Area on Aging attended a council meeting to promote the idea of bringing the Congregate Meals service to Winfield. The requirements included a ground level building and adequate bathroom facilities. The agency would pay the cost of the service but rent and utilities would be the town’s responsibility. The council was asked to donate $750 to help start the program.

The Vets agreed to rent their building for $600 a year. A soup supper was held every year to help defray the cost. Anyone interested in securing a place at the table was asked to call Letha Cornwell. At that time approximately 30% of Winfield’s population was over 60. Arlene Swan again reminded citizens that, “Congregate Meals is not a charity,” and are available to anyone over 60. The Congregate Meals site got off to a successful start. In the first two weeks a total of 140 meals were served, this included home delivery.

Some of the early entertainment programs were the singing Grandpa from Washington and Mary Bretz and Richie Rothenberger, both talented piano players. Through the years many others came to entertain. In March of 1986 Allen Goff showed some of his artwork at Congregate Meals. His photo was on the first page of the Beacon and the caption stated in part, “Congregate Meals has had some very interesting programs recently and all interested persons are invited to attend and enjoy the programs and the fellowship.”

The Sun Spots from Sunrise once joined the Congregate Meals people for lunch and singing. Lili Moyer and Sherman Harmer played their harmonicas, Fern Beard performed a solo and several staff members from Sun Rise showed off their talents. Programs were plentiful and appreciated.

The first Wednesday of each month was “Theme Day.” On one Wednesday Fredric and Betty Lason from Swedberg presented a program on Swedish music. Another day Irwin and Ann Hunger presented slides from their trip to India. Some other programs were presented by school children. Mrs. Linder and Mrs. Gerling brought their 1st grade classes who sang, “Puff, Puff” and “Little Bunny Foo Foo.” Mrs. Culver’s 2nd grade class shared projects they had made showcasing things they learned from their study of Iowa and sang the “Iowa Corn Song.” Mrs. Wooton’s pre-school visited the site and presented a polka dance.

From the very beginning maintaining and encouraging more attendance was always a priority. Unfortunately, in recent years, despite various efforts to encourage people to attend, interest waned and attendance never regained enough numbers to help maintain the service.

For the first two years the site was operated strictly by volunteers with no paid employee. In 1986, Arlene Johnson became the first site manager to earn a salary. Before hiring a site manager, Volunteers took turns overseeing the site. Arlene was followed by Ceree Hackley, Katie Williams, Cindy Morse, Renee Quinn and present manager Stacy Dickerson.

Cindy Morse was Congregate Meals site manager from 1986 through 2010. Following the passing of her husband, Bob, Cindy resigned and moved to Port City to be closer to her family. She shared these memories of her time as site manager. “The attendance averaged 22-25. Favorite meals were fried chicken, beef and noodles, and believe it or not, liver and onions. Once a month, birthdays were celebrated and the meal always included dessert and ice cream. Pitch was the card game of choice and many times there were two tables of players. Holidays were celebrated, and on Halloween kids came in their costumes. Some form of entertainment was provided each month. The jazz band and speech students were just two of the many programs that provided entertainment.”

Cindy recalled that people came from the Olds, Mt. Union and the Wyman area as well as Winfield. During her time as site manager Cindy wrote several letters to the Beacon talking about what Congregate Meals offered and encouraging people to take advantage of them. She was saddened to learn that the meal site, once a major part of Winfield’s past, would no longer exist.

In December 2010, Renee Quinn became the site manager for the next eight years. Renee shared these memories of her years as site manager.

“I would have anywhere from three to thirty-two people, depending on the meal and what was happening at the meal site, like volunteer appreciation day, meal site anniversary, etc.…I would have anywhere from four home deliveries to seven, some of them were short term, those who needed them while recouping from surgery or not being able to get out in the winter. I learned how to play pitch, I don’t know if I remember how to not, from Helen Gerling, Keith Thomas and Benny Buffington. The round table, for the most part, would be full of players and fun banter. I was always excited when a family member wanted to surprise one of the participants on their birthday. We would have a wonderful birthday party. Corriene Culver’s 5th grade class would come and share projects, and the jazz band came once to play for us. I was one of the lucky meal sites that had wonderful volunteers. I was a bit spoiled; my volunteers would do everything from set up before meals to washing dishes and sweeping the floors to filling in for me when I was sick or one of kiddos were sick. I so much appreciated all of them and I hope I did a good job letting them know that.”

After Renee left for a new position in 2018, Winfield resident Stacy Dickerson took over as site manger and will be the last one to serve in that capacity. Stacy had to deal with the Covid crisis. First, meals had to be picked up at the site as no meals could be served in the building. When diners were allowed to once again eat together Stacy rearranged the tables, so everyone sat at the designated distance from our fellow diners. Though complying with the rules was an inconvenience for everyone involved, everyone survived the ordeal, and the meals finally returned to normal.

In early January everyone who participated in the meals, including site manager Stacy, received a letter stating that the congregate meals would be discontinued in February. It was an unwelcome surprise, and it was done without a prior warning.

While the number of attendees was few, the meals served more people than the daily numbers showed. Some people came only once a week, others more often, some less often, but overall, the site was used by many different people, even if some were not there every day. People not only enjoyed looking forward to the meal, but also to the social aspect that eating with friends brought into their lives. Congregate Meals may be one of those things we don’t realize how much we will miss until they are no longer available.

  Buy Photo

  Buy Photo

  Buy Photo

  Buy Photo

  Buy Photo