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Retirement, costs threaten food deliveries
Meals program needs director
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More from County NewsMargaret Barnes might soon be missing the goulash, spaghetti and meatballs, and other food items hanging in a bag on her doorknob when she returns from physical therapy.
The daily food deliveries that Barnes gets from the Ventura County Commission on Nutrition's Meals On Wheels program might stop permanently by June 30.
"I was very dismayed because that's what I rely on," said Barnes, 70.
The program suffered from a lack of funds in the 1990s, and the problem intensified after 2000, Executive Director Vicky Herrera said.
Now, Meals On Wheels is facing decreased funding, rising gas and food costs, and Herrera's retirement.
"On the advice of my doctor, I have to stop working," Herrera said.
The Ventura-based program could possibly survive if donations increase and a new director is found, she said.
The program has been saved in previous years thanks to private donations.
Meals On Wheels has operated since 1978 and serves about 135 seniors in El Rio, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Saticoy and Ventura, Herrera said.
Carla Alvarez, the organization's former assistant director, said she believes that a lot of those people "are going to fall between the cracks."
If the organization closes, seniors could receive home-delivered food from other programs, except in Santa Paula, said Susan White, senior nutrition grants manager for the Area Agency on Aging.
"It would take time to develop something for that area," she said of Santa Paula. "How much? I don't know. I think we would have to see what the demand was."
Meals On Wheels delivers food to 26 to 28 seniors in Santa Paula, receptionist Lupe Renteria said.
"This program is very, very important to me due to the fact that I'm unable to do for myself," Barnes said.
For information on senior nutrition programs, call White at 477-7311.
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