Census reporter.org shows Todd County has a 19% poverty rate for seniors over the age of 65.  To help meet the needs of seniors, the Pennyrile Allied Community Services (PACS) Todd County Senior Center provides meals and services free to individuals 60 years and older on a daily basis.  Seniors enjoy the fellowship with other seniors, but for most seniors, the lunch meal is the main source of nutrition for the day. The outbreak of Covid-19 closed the Todd County Senior Citizens Center to inside guests; however, meals would continue to be served drive-through or delivered to homebound seniors.

Due to funding cuts, the centers’ employees could not work while the center was closed.  Charlotte Lyons, Director for the Todd County Senior Center location, asked the Todd County Nutrition Education Program (NEP) Assistant if she would work with volunteers, who would be packing meals, to ensure proper food safety practices. 

The Todd County NEP Assistant had been teaching a group each month using the 2020 NEP Calendar and “Healthy Choices for Everybody” curriculum.  This was an opportunity to reach homebound seniors and stay in touch with class participants.  The NEP Assistant helped oversee food safety in the kitchen and placed nutrition information, recipes or My Plate publications with all meals.

The NEP Assistant was also able to help pass out commodity boxes to seniors who were not enrolled in the NEP program, to help meet their nutritional needs.  The NEP Assistant was able speak to seniors as they stopped to pick up food, inviting them to future Nutrition Classes, hand out calendars and nutrition information.

The Todd County Senior Center served 91 seniors with 1,276 meals in April 2020; 87 seniors with 1,979 meals in May; 96 seniors with 1,536 meals in June.  Nutrition and health information, Myplate puzzles, healthy recipes, and/or newsletters were included with all meals April and May, and included with some of the meals in June and in 167 senior commodity boxes for April, May and June.

A “make a bumper sticker” activity encouraged seniors to show something they had learned from the information they received with meals.  A few of the pictures returned are included below.  A thank you note asking the NEP Assistant to keep sending recipes is also included. 

The University of Kentucky Nutrition Education Program helped reach isolated seniors with necessary health and nutrition information during the Covid 19 restrictions. 

*Information about Pennyrile Allied Community Services, Inc. on separate page.

Pennyrile Allied Community Services, Inc. (PACS) is a private, non-profit agency chartered July 1, 1974 upon the submission of Articles of Incorporation to the Office of the Kentucky Secretary of State.  Pennyrile Allied Community Services is a community action agency created under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-452) and authorized under the Kentucky Revised Statutes (K.R.S.) 273-410 et sequens, as revised under amendments by the 1982 General Assembly entitled "Community Action Agencies".  The 1980 General Assembly amended Chapter 65 of the K.R.S. and specifically defined the agency as a "special district" of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Thus, PACS, as the term special district implies is a unique, limited purpose unit of government created for and involved with its specific aspect of public service.  As a special district, PACS is fully accountable to the local Fiscal Courts and the public to whom it must make an annual report of its budget, services, service area, executive officers and members of its governing Board of Directors.

There are nine senior citizens centers located throughout the Pennyrile.  Each county has one multipurpose center.  The centers provide information and assistance, healthy promotion and disease prevention activities/training, social activities, congregate meals and other services related to people 60 year of age and older.   Congregate meals are served five days per week.