Senior Nutrition Program celebrates 50 years
By Cheyenne Thomas
When the Senior Nutrition Program in Clark County first got started in 1973, there were many people who said it couldn’t be done. With every new change and addition to the program, there were naysayers who thought a small, rural county like Clark County wouldn’t have the ability to sustain itself. But 50 years later, the Senior Nutrition Program is still in Clark County with services to help the elderly stay in their homes and get the assistance they need.
A program to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Senior Nutrition Program was held on Oct. 12 at Sunset Place Apartments in Neillsville. The program featured vendors and representatives from support agencies in the county associated with the Senior Nutrition Program, as well as guest speakers who gave presentations to visitors about the history of theAging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Clark County and tools and resources seniors can use to help them in their day-to-day lives.
Mary Sladich, former director of the ADRC, gave a presentation on the history of the program. She started working there in 1974, a year after the Senior Nutrition Program was started in Clark County. The Clark County program was one of the first Senior Nutrition Programs of its kind ever established in the state of Wisconsin, and its first few months of existence saw quick growth.
“Because of a high percentage of elderly in Clark County, and our poverty level, we were one of the first ones established,” said Sladich. “It started at the grassroots level and we had our first facility built in Owen in 1973. Then there was one that opened a few months later in Neillsville, and the next January there was one opened in Greenwood. It all started up within a few months.”
The appeal, and the need, for a program that provided the elderly all across Clark County with meals was something that communities were soon aware of. The Senior Nutrition Program continued to grow through the efforts of volunteers and community leaders who saw its importance, even when higher powers tried to intervene.
“The state said that we needed to stop, that we couldn’t expand,” said Sladich. “Abbotsford went and said, ‘Nuh-uh, we want one too,’ and worked to be a part of the program that had been established in Owen. The state came in and said, ‘You’re going to fail. You can’t expand.’Well, we said we could, and we did. At one point, we had 10 centers in Clark County. We had coordination and volunteers. That is what kept us going in Clark County.”
Despite the odds, and the naysayers, Sladish said the Senior Nutrition Program was soon able to offer meals to all elderly residents in Clark County. It continued to grow, expanding what opportunities were offered to the elderly from transportation to recreational activities.
“We went out to all of our community members, not just the ones that lived a few miles away from a city. We’re very proud of that,” she said. “We added aging, nutrition and social services. It extended what we did with nutrition. It added transportation, recreational projects and other things.”
The ADRC and Senior Nutrition Program continues its efforts to provide as many services to the elderly as possible. In 2009, the program joined an effort with other counties to add aging and disability resources. When those counties later decided to go their own way, Sladich said Clark County once again went against the odds and showed how a small, rural county could continue to offer programs for its residents.
“We grew again in 2009,” she said. “There was an initiative started that offered aging and disability services across the state. They said, ‘You’re too small; you won’t be able to do it alone.’ All the other neighboring counties had all paired up into their own groups already, so we were connected with Buffalo and Pepin counties. It was quite a drive to meet up with them. It worked out well for a few years and then Buffalo and Pepin went to do their own thing and Clark County was left alone. We had debates with the state and with different legislators because they didn’t think it would be possible for us to go it alone. But it worked out. It added more things for our seniors. In 2017, we became our own independent ADRC.”
If it wasn’t for the support of so many community members and leaders over the 50 years the Senior Nutrition Program has been in existence, Sladich said the elderly in the community would have had no support.
“The Clark County Board of Supervisors set it up. They have always been extremely supportive of the elderly and of the aging and nutrition program in Clark County,” she said. “There are some counties out there who have nothing. They always made sure to respect the elderly and made sure they were served. These programs keep people in their homes much longer. When we are allowed to stay home, our health is much better. You feel more comfortable in your own home. The program allows us to look at the whole person, not just giving them a meal. It’s about a person’s whole wellbeing.”
For more information about the Clark County Aging and Disability Resource Center and the resources it offers, call 866-743-5144 or 715-743-5166.
