CLEARFIELD — The Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging is committed to providing the best possible home-delivered meal service for area seniors, but is concerned about staffing shortages, much like many businesses and community-based organizations since COVID-19.
“In the last year, we have experienced a 14 percent increase in the need for meals in Clearfield County,” said Kathleen Gillespie, chief executive officer of CCAAA.
“We have been in awe of the outpouring of support, and there’s still much we can do to ensure everyone in need of this vital lifeline can benefit from being well-nourished and more connected to our community through this challenging time and beyond.
“In 2020, we served an average of 15,700 meals per month. This was an increase of 2,000 meals from 2019.”
With such an uptick in meals, maintaining staff is a must. “Our drivers are an incredible group of folks, dedicated to not only delivering meals each day to seniors, but [also] to making a real connection with the people we serve.
“For many of our seniors, our drivers may be the only person they see daily, so they look forward to when the driver arrives.” Gillespie adds, “Like any other service, we must have enough staff to cover the increasing need of older adults for food.”
The Agency on Aging is currently looking for casual drivers to cover when regular drivers cannot be at work.
According to Gillespie, this is a great opportunity for retired or seasonal workers to not only make additional income, but also make a difference in the lives of seniors.
Anyone interested in joining this amazing outreach is encouraged to contact the agency at 814-765-2696 or e-mail to mail@ccaaa.net.