Our Services
Congregate Meals (Friendship Meals)
Congregate meals (Friendship Meals) are provided in group settings at neighborhood senior centers, community centers, etc. Congregate meals offer an opportunity for people to enjoy a well-balanced, nutritious meal in the company of others. Generally, these meals are provided at noontime. The program not only promotes better health in seniors through improved nutrition, but also reduces the isolation of old age, thereby improving the quality of life in their later years.
Many social and recreational activities are offered along with the meals. The congregate sites allow the opportunity for information and social interaction between the participants. The congregate meals provide a setting that is conducive to the development of good nutritional habits for our participants. Many times the meal consumed at our sites is the only nutritional meal that the participant will receive that day.
Home Delivered Meals (Meals on Wheels)
API home delivered meals (Meals on Wheels) are available for individuals who are homebound by reasons of illness, incapacitation, disability, are in isolated communities, do not have anyone to prepare a balanced meal for them, and/or are not able, physically, socially, or emotionally, to attend a congregate meal site. Many times these home delivered meals assist the elderly in our communities to maintain their independence and avoid or delay institutionalization.
Our transporters are vital to these participants because they go into the home everyday to deliver the meal and are able to assess if the participant requires help of any kind. If there is no response to the knock and staff cannot get in the house, contact is made with the emergency contact person to assess what the problem might be. If the contact person is unavailable, the police are contacted. In many instances the transporter is the only person that senior may see that day. It is the seniors chance to visit and socialize with another individual face to face.
Providing Peace of Mind
API provides our meals from sixteen (16) kitchens. These meals are transported to 51 congregate sites and to 16 isolated communities that do not have a congregate meal site. Rural communities in south central Kansas have very limited services available to seniors. Many of these communities have no employer base, which requires individuals to commute to larger communities for work. This lowers the available caregiver pool to help elderly in the rural community. Sons and daughters are not available to pop in and check on their parents, or cook a meal in order to assist them in proper nutritional habits. Aging Projects, Inc. through our meal program fills in this gap, providing peace of mind to both our participants and their families.