FROM THE EDITORS DESK – By Cindy Merckx Published Week of 12/6/2018
Published 12/6/2018 The Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper
You may remember a front page story that appeared in our newspaper back in August about two local women from Franklin Township named Elaine Adams and Jean Thompson. These women met with many residents collecting signatures to ‘Save the County Nutrition Program Site in Franklin Township.’ I promised to update our readers on this matter that began on July 26th when Committeeman Dave Deegan arrived at the Township Community Center while several senior citizens were having their lunch that is provided by the Gloucester County Nutrition Program. According to several seniors I spoke with, the Committeeman loudly announced that the nutrition program was going to end on August 1st giving them only a few days notice. They were told they could take a bus to Williamstown or Glassboro.
Feeling upset with the way things were handled by town officials, Elaine and Jean were determined to keep the program open for senior citizens in Franklin Township who enjoyed coming to this center. The women collected over 300 signatures from residents who supported their concerns in keeping the County Nutrition Site active in Franklin Township. It was then presented to the Township Committee at a meeting and officials put things on hold.
Mayor Leah Vassallo released a statement at that time saying that the reason for the action was that attendance had dropped off to a very low number and that some members of the Committee wanted to make the room available for other purposes.
Jean and Elaine explained to the Committee members that the numbers do drop over the summer months with family vacation and travel plans. There was also some conflicts or debates that occurred between seniors at times, but things were able to be resolved. Over the past few months, the numbers have increased at times to over 20-25 senior citizens enjoying an early lunch at 11 a.m. at the Franklinville Community Center location. You will find senior citizens enjoying their time conversing with one another and sometimes they will play bingo or cards after they eat lunch together.
Last week, the rumors surfaced again that the Township Committee plans to not renew the contract with the Gloucester County Nutrition Program for 2019 and a few residents contacted me by telephone. The seniors commented that Township officials have approached several area businesses to ask them if they would prepare, donate and deliver the food to the Community Center on a weekly or monthly basis.
“Of course, nothing is finalized until the Township Committee votes, but I did give the County verbal notice that it is extremely likely we will not be renewing our contract in January,” stated Franklin Township Administrator Nancy Kennedy Brent in an email response to The Sentinel. “The Committee is working hard to put another program in place and incorporate our local businesses, all of whom have been extremely, extremely generous. The Committee is hoping to get more seniors involved and will be reviewing it monthly as we go forward. Again there could always be changes when they vote, but it is my understanding they are hoping to revitalize the program by making some changes. The Committee is truly gratified by the commitments from businesses in place, and if and when it does become official I will be very happy to provide you with names of those participating.”
I met with Jean and Elaine to discuss with them the response from the Township Administrator and they said they are disappointed with the Committee’s decision to not renew the contract with Gloucester County.
“We have a wonderful group of seniors attending each week and we don’t want anything to change,” said Jean Thompson. “We don’t want the businesses to donate food for us each week because it is not necessary. The County already has a program in place that we are pleased with. I have spoken to some of the business owners and they say they felt pressured when they were asked by the township and were made to feel like they had to donate food for us.”
“We enjoy meeting with each other. This is our social time together,” said Elaine Adams. “The seniors don’t want to be a burden on their family, the business owners or anyone.”
The women once again plan to circulate a petition and gather more signatures and do whatever it takes to keep the County Nutrition program in place. The Township Committee has not yet presented their proposed program to the seniors who attend this nutrition program so they they feel they are being left in the dark. I met with several seniors last Friday at the center who have several questions for officials including what the cost of this ‘new’ program will be to Franklin Township taxpayers. They want to know what type of food do the business owners plan to cook for them and how long do they intend to be able to donate or are some of the business owners getting paid and others not.
My personal opinion on this subject is that I learned at a very early age (from my grandparents) that our elders are the people that deserve to be respected because of the experiences they have gone through over time. As far as I’m concerned these senior citizens deserve respect and a visit from our Township officials who should take a few minutes to sit down and talk with them individually to listen to what their concerns are before they vote or make any final decision to stop the Nutrition Program that is in place.