Author: michael

Workshop is Presented by Huntington Bank

On Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6 there will be free workshops available for older Copper Country residents titled Money Smart for Older Adults. The workshops are presented by Huntington Bank. Thursday, October 5 will be at Lakeview Manor in Hancock at 3 p.m. Friday, October 6 will be at Park Avenue Apartments in Calumet. Call (906) 523-5920 by October 4 to reserve a spot. 

Money Smart for Older Adults is designed to provide information and tips to prevent common frauds, scams, and other types of elder financial exploitation in your community. Financial exploitation has been called “the crime of the 21st century” by a broad spectrum of perpetrators, including persons they know and trust, as well as strangers. Awareness is the first step, planning ahead for financial wellbeing and the possibility of diminished capacity is critical. Reporting and early intervention are vital to prevent loss and recovering loss when possible.

This workshop is for Senior Citizens that will bring in Safe Banking for Seniors around fraud protection, scam identification, and what to do if it happens to you. It will include a fun BINGO game to review topics and engage the participants. The session is about two hours. Leading the workshop will be Jennifer Rekasi, Community Development Relationship Manager/ Vice President, from Huntington Bank. 

Copper Country Senior Meals Partners with Local Farm to Provide Fresh Food

Ghost House Farm is a locally owned farm that has partnered with Copper Country Senior Meals in order to provide fresh food for seniors. Though originally started unexpectedly, this partnership has blossomed into a cherished relationship.

Drew Cramer and Allison Mills, owners of Ghost House Farm, believe that healthy and accessible food begins with healthy soil. They practice sustainable farming techniques such as crop rotation, crop covering and raising livestock.

These practices help ensure that the nutrients necessary to grow food are always present in the soil they grow in. In order to keep food, resources and money in the local economy, Ghost House Farm provides subscription services for eggs, fresh produce, flowers and local meats through a partnership with Frozen Farms.

A balanced diet is a key part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, it is much more difficult to sustain healthy eating when the ingredients are not accessible. Ghost House Farm is focused on providing food accessibility to citizens of the Copper Country.

Last year, Ghost House Farm partnered with Copper Country Senior Meals (CCSM) in an effort to reduce food waste while simultaneously offering the seniors fresh produce. Ghost House Farm ended up with 100 extra winter squashes, and that led to a partnership that offered seniors financially and environmentally sustainable produce.

“I thought it was a little thing when I donated the squash, but there were seniors in tears because they hadn’t had squash in decades,” said Cramer.

As the partnership continued, Ghost House Farm supplied fresh salad mix, which was greatly appreciated by the seniors. Kathleen Harter, executive director of CCSM, explained that this is not a food that seniors will typically buy for themselves.

“If you think about everything that goes into making salad… this is something they don’t buy because it often goes bad before they can eat it all,” said Harter. “If you are one person eating by yourself, which many of our seniors are, it’s going to go bad.”

Offering one portion of salad as part of a daily meal has allowed many seniors to start eating salad again. Not only is it good to have fresh food, but the salad also offers more color and new tastes to the menu. For many seniors, the salad ingredients are reminiscent of the gardens and farms that were once a part of their daily lives.

Though Cramer and Mills were just looking to help an old friend and former boss, Harter, they helped kick-start programming that they hope will help finance more fresh, local produce.

In March, Ghost House Farm launched a Copper Country Senior Meals donation subscription, in which people can choose to sign up and donate weekly towards providing seniors with fresh produce. Though this feature is brand new to their online store, their goal is to reach $50 per week this summer. Within a week they were up to $6. 

“That would enable us to donate five pounds of salad mix and a couple of pounds of other seasonal produce to Copper Country Senior Meals every week,” said Cramer. “I’m hopeful we’ll get there.”

CCSM and Ghost House Farm plan to grow their partnership to address community needs.

“I am so grateful and appreciative of their community focus and wanting to help serve seniors with fresh foods as much as possible,” said Harter.

If you would like to support Ghost House Farm and Copper Country Senior Meals, consider subscribing to the donation program. The default donation is $1 per week, but if you wish, you can order multiple $1 subscriptions to donate more than $1 per week.

You can sign up today by visiting Ghost House Farm’s online store. To keep up with us at Copper Country Senior Meals, sign up for our monthly email newsletter.

Support will help to fight senior hunger and isolation in Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw Counties

Copper County Senior Meals (CCSM) announced today that it will be participating in the 21st annual March for Meals – a month-long, nationwide celebration of Meal on Wheels and our senior neighbors who rely on this essential service to remain healthy and independent at home, now even more so amid a lingering pandemic and high inflation. Copper County Senior Meals’ celebration will include various activities throughout the month of March.

“These daily visits are so important in alleviating social isolation,” CCSM Director Kathleen Harter said. “Many area seniors feel forgotten and they truly look forward to the daily visit and hot meal.”

For home bound seniors, ‘meals on wheels’ are available. This vital service not only provides a hot meal, but also a visit from a dedicated delivery person. Meals and milk can be opened, and if a senior is not home, or able to open the door, CCSM calls an emergency contact to be sure of the senior’s wellbeing. Often, this is the only social contact our home bound have, and it is very important for them to have a connection with the world outside.

The annual March for Meals celebration commemorates the historic day in March of 1972 when President Nixon signed into law a measure that amended the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include a national nutrition program for seniors 60 years and older. This critical support and federal funding has fueled the growth of the Meals on Wheels network for more than 50 years.

During the month, community-based Meals on Wheels programs from across the country will join forces for the annual awareness campaign to celebrate this successful public-private partnership and garner the resources needed to reach every senior in need of a nutritious meal, friendly visit and safety check.

“March is an important time for us to come together to ensure that Meals on Wheels is there for all of our senior neighbors in need,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO of Meals on Wheels America. “The demand for services is already great and approximately 12,000 Americans are turning 60 every day. We must maintain and expand the programs that have helped so many get through this unprecedented time in our nation’s history. We can’t do it alone. It takes all of us to keep the nationwide Meals on Wheels movement going.”

For more information on how you can volunteer, contribute or speak out for the seniors in the Copper Country this March, visit coppercountryseniormeals.org.