Staff photo by Fritz Busch In-person senior diners at the New Ulm Community Center Cafetorium Thursday from left, Larry and Darlene Quindel, Judy Gibbs, LeRoy Anderson, Chuck Sasse, and Carol and Charlie Guggisberg, all of New Ulm.

NEW ULM — Up to a dozen senior citizens gather late each weekday morning to eat meals at the New Ulm Community Center on weekdays.

The meals for seniors and Meals on Wheels program are provided by Lutheran Social Services (LSS).

Senior diners said the number of local diners fell off after COVID ramped up a couple years ago. They said they would all like to see more people regularly eating the meals that are now delivered from Mankato.

“We made meals in New Ulm until October 2024 when we ran out of COVID funding and one of our biggest funders, the Minnesota River Agency on Aging caused us to make some changes including making meals in Mankato. The good news is the City of New Ulm still lets us use community center space, which is fantastic,” said Mankato LSS Site Coordinator Joy Boertje.

New Ulm weekday diners said the meals and site remain a big part of their lives. Many of them to like to see more seniors join them.

“We come to socialize, play cards and eat,” said Mary Shoen of New Ulm. She was accompanied by her daughter Cindy Schoen of Apple Valley.

She’s been coming to the community center since she retired 18 years ago. Shoen worked at Kraft in New Ulm for 43 years. She was a New Ulm Public School paraprofessional substitute for eight years.

“This is a nice place for people to meet. Several people come here to get out of the house. Before COVID-19, we had five or six tables full of people here. Now it’s one or two tables of people,” she said.

Chuck Sasse raised cattle, hogs and turkeys in Home Township with his uncle for 20 years, then worked as a salesman.

“I wish we had more people here. It’s good to have this for the camaraderie. I don’t cook other than my own eggs in the morning. This gets me out of the house,” he said.

Sasse recalled living on the farm in the winter of 1965.

“We had to get a neighbor to help with cattle caught in edge of the grove. Some snowdrifts were terrible. Some of those weren’t the good, old days,” Sasse said.

LeRoy Anderson has been coming to the community center for 11 years. He farmed for 20 years near Sveadahl in Watonwan County, then did maintenance work at the Brown County Courthouse and Brown County License Bureau.

“I come here to see people,” he said.

Greg and Agnes Bushard of New Ulm joined the group.

“We come for the meals and sometimes play bingo,” said Greg. They used to deliver The Journal on top of the hill in New Ulm. They still deliver the Shopper-Post Review.

Irma McLean joined the group for dinner. She taught school at St. Paul’s Lutheran for 29 years. Her late husband Mike taught English and History at New Ulm Public Schools.

“I like to eat and visit at the community center,” said McLean.

Concerns discussed by the group included possible Medicaid and Medicare cuts.

“Without those two things, people may not be able to live in their homes after retiring. With the high cost of living in other places, they may not have many other places to go,” said Anderson.

New Ulm Community Center senior dining meals can be picked up curbside Monday through Friday. Lunch is served at 11 a.m. Meals can be delivered through Meals on Wheels 11 a.m. to noon. To reserve a meal, call 507-359-2243 by 1 p.m. the day prior (Friday for Monday).

Senior meal diners do not pay for meals when they eat. They receive monthly statements from Lutheran Social Services (L.S.S). Suggested meal donations are $6-$9.50 per meal for those past age 60 and $9.50 for those under 60.

A 501c3 non-profit organization, the CAST (Community and Seniors Together) Senior Center generates no income and relies on donations, sponsorships, grants and fundraisers to operate.

National Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander issued a statement last month in response to the U.S. House budget reconciliation bill passed Feb. 25.

“We are deeply concerned by the passage of the House budget reconciliation bill that includes significant cuts that put at risk critical funding for Meals on Wheels and other vital programs that help support older adults, such as the Social Services Block Grant program, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and Medicaid,” said Hollander.

She said funding cuts of any kind would worsen an already dire situation for older Americans.

“While the full scope of funding cuts remains unclear, any funding reduction would be devastating to local Meals on Wheels providers and the seniors they serve, especially considering one in three already has a waitlist,” Hollander said.

For more information, visit https://communityandseniorstogether.org/