Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Lombard, IL – AgeGuide, the Area Agency on Aging for Northeastern Illinois, is announcing that the operation of Older Americans Act (OAA) nutrition services home delivered meals program in Kankakee County will be transitioned to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet, effective October 1, 2021.
The home delivered meals program provides older adults with a hot meal, a well-being check, and a few moments of friendly conversation. Meals are approved by Registered Dietitians and provide 1/3 of the daily nutrition needs of the average older adult. Due to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, anyone over 60 years or older qualifies for the home delivered meals program. Last year, AgeGuide delivered over 1 million meals to older adults to ensure everyone had access to healthy meals during the pandemic.
One of AgeGuide’s primary functions is to award funding to local agencies in each county to provide vital Older Americans Act services. For the past year, in the absence of a qualified local provider, AgeGuide stepped in to maintain the nutrition program in Kankakee County. Although a partnership with Mom’s Meals allowed AgeGuide to seamlessly deliver meals to Kankakee residents who needed them, the organization is pleased that Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet, Kankakee County’s local provider of Aging and Disability Services will be providing home delivered meal services. While AgeGuide continues to provide the Community Dining Program and maintains funding and monitoring responsibilities for the nutrition program, Catholic Charities will now deliver the home delivered meals program for Kankakee County. Catholic Charities also provides Telephone Reassurance, Caregiver Support, Information and Assistance, Options Counseling, Health Promotion classes, the Senior Health Insurance Program, Adult Protective Services, and Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs to older adults in Kankakee County.
“After an extensive search, we are thrilled to expand our partnership with Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet as they take the helm of this critical program in Kankakee County.” said Marla Fronczak, Chief Executive Officer of AgeGuide Northeastern Illinois. “Catholic Charities is already an established and trusted provider of older adult services in the community, and we are confident this will be a seamless transition. We are excited to see this program grow under their direction.”
Anyone who would like to receive a home delivered meal in Kankakee County should contact Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet at (815) 933-7791 for more information.
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AgeGuide Northeastern Illinois is a nonprofit organization responsible for developing and coordinating a network of services for older adults throughout the eight-county region. AgeGuide informs and advises public and private agencies and the general public of the needs of older adults living in the area, and acts as an advocate on their behalf. The Agency serves DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties. Other information about AgeGuide and other topics of interest to older adults and links to other resources are available at the Agency’s web site: www.ageguide.org
