There was a time in the not-too-distant past when senior services were offered by the private sector or the social service agency in a community. The Council on Aging fostered clubs, church groups, and civic associations to become involved in leisure activities for those who were retired but still physically active. Where senior centers did exist they were usually small buildings where seniors could meet and socialize—and perhaps get a meal or share in a potluck at the same time.
Things have changed a lot over the past 25 years. First and foremost among the changes are the seniors themselves. Where once retirement defined one as a senior, it’s not uncommon now to see 55-year-old retirees and 70-year-olds still working. Older adults are defined more by their physical activity level than in the past. The once-age-segregated senior centers are giving way to multi-generational facilities that serve the entire community. This combined approach has benefited many communities: They fill off-peak hours at their recreation centers by offering seniors discounted hours of use.
Even in those communities that have a high number of retirees, senior centers are no longer geared toward small meeting room spaces. Now they contain fitness centers, therapeutic pools, walking tracks, multi-use spaces for social activities such as dancing and drama performances, and variously equipped spaces for arts and craft clubs and related activities. Many even have sales centers where center participants sell the products they make in their clubs.
Yet, there is another group of seniors—people who are less physically capable, travel only during the daylight hours, and may depend on provided meals to make ends meet. They are generally in the older ages of retirement (75 and above) and once again find themselves isolated in ways that their more active peers are not. More and more, park and recreation departments are providing program services for this group and finding ways to deliver meals during the weekdays.
Most of the above information is derived from analysis of senior demographic changes and observation of senior program services and the development trends in recreation facilities. One of the values of PRORAGIS is that we can collect and certify trend data that will help you make decisions based on sound information. Although our number of respondents (38) is rather low, we hope, as we increase participation, to see the trend data improve and become more reliable for decision-making. As of this April we know the following information about senior programs.
The 2011 results from PRORAGIS indicate that slightly over 70 percent of all respondents have programs for seniors and almost 41 percent operate senior centers. Of those offering senior programs, more than 27 percent offer meals to seniors. Characteristics of the senior meals include annual data on the number of meals served and data on the number of seniors served weekly.
The median number of meals served during the year is 9,550 or 183 seniors served per week. Note that NRPA may be able to use this information to seek grants to help your agency with your senior meals program.
If yes, how many meals are served annually?
Number of Responses 38
Lower Quartile 182
Median 9550
Upper Quartile 15075
If yes, how many seniors are served per week?
Number of Responses 38
Lower Quartile 66
Median 183
Upper Quartile 330