For many older adults, the holiday season often feels more isolating than festive — or as Senior & Disability representatives put it, “more silence than celebration.”
In Lane County, 43% of households can’t afford basics, which translates to 70,194 families living paycheck to paycheck, according to the 2025 ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) published by United Way of Lane County.
And seniors are most affected. An estimated 53% of households headed by seniors in Lane County have annual incomes below the Elder Index, meaning they cannot afford the basic cost of living, according to the study.
The average Social Security benefit in Oregon is roughly $1,900 per month. In Lane County, if a senior relies solely on Social Security, they face a shortfall of approximately $900 to $1,200 every month just to cover the basics.
The colder winter months exacerbate this loneliness, putting homebound seniors at an increased risk for both isolation and malnutrition.
As the year wraps up, Senior & Disability Services, a division of Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), is asking community members to support vulnerable older adults by donating to or volunteering with the Senior Meals Program.
The Senior Meals Program is a nutrition wellness program that operates nine Café 60 dining rooms and delivers Meals on Wheels across Lane County to 1,500 older adults annually – serving more than 130,000 meals to folks who can no longer shop for or prepare food.
According to the 2025–2029 Area Plan published by LCOG:
- Creswell holds Cafe 60 at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Crestview Villa, 350 S. 2nd St. The monthly average is 181 in-person meals and 450 home-delivered meals.
- Cottage Grove hosts Cafe 60 at 11:30 a.m. each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the Community Center, 700 E. Gibbs Ave. The average monthly participation is 165 in-person meals, with 761 home-delivered meals provided.
- Springfield offers Cafe 60 at 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center, 215 W.. C St. The monthly average is 674 in-person meals and 3,846 home-delivered meals.
This message to volunteer and donate is especially urgent, as demand for services is increasing amid a rapidly growing aging population, inadequate federal funding, and recent historic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
“Funding for the Older Americans Act continues to fall short of meeting the increasing demand for Meals on Wheels services,” according to Marisa Andrews, Contracts & Community Program Manager, on behalf of LCOG staff. “These challenges place programs like Meals on Wheels at risk – right when they are needed most.”
The localized national campaign from Meals on Wheels America is inspired by the classic carol “Silent Night.” It includes a video explaining how many older adults endure not only silent nights, but also silent weeks, months, and even years.
“Each delivery represents … a friendly visit, a safety check, and a vital human connection,” Andrews said. For some, a Senior Meals Program volunteer may be the only person they see all week.
Café 60 meal sites have resumed in-person dining for Fiscal Year 2024. Cottage Grove served 5% more meals this year than last, while Springfield served 33% fewer.
This year, Springfield is expected to serve 32% more meals, while Cottage Grove is stable, Andrews said.
“Our goal is to expand our delivery boundaries beyond the city limits of each area, and every time we onboard a new volunteer and add a Meals on Wheels route, it is quickly full,” Andrews said. Over the last month, in Springfield alone, “we added three new routes, and all were full within a week. In Veneta, we have one route where our consumers receive a delivery one time per month.”
There are volunteer shortages across all nine meal sites, with the Springfield, Creswell, and Veneta sites in particular need.
A shortage in volunteers sometimes means that volunteers are often strained, “taking on multiple routes each day instead of just one, or staying for an extra shift to help in the kitchen when a fellow volunteer is not able to come in,” Andrews said. “With more volunteers and people willing to drive a longer distance from our meal site, we could be reaching more of our older community members than ever before.”
Andrews said there are volunteer opportunities to meet anyone’s availability.
“For Meals on Wheels drivers, we ask for 2-3 hours per shift. This would include the time it takes to load their vehicle, deliver meals, and return to the site. People could volunteer as much time as they would like. For us to expand our reach to our more rural older neighbors, round-trip driving time could be 2-4 hours,” Andrews said.
To volunteer, people must apply for a background check, which can take 4-6 weeks, and, in some situations, fingerprints.
By donating to the senior meals program, LCOG estimates that:
- $10 supplements a senior’s own meal contribution
- $50 provides one week of meals to a senior
- $100 provides two weeks of meals to a senior
- $250 provides one month of meals to a senior
- $1,500 feeds a senior for six months
- $3,000 feeds a senior for an entire year
For more info and to volunteer: lcog-or.gov/sdslane/page/how-can-i-help
lcog-or.gov/sdslane/page/donate-senior-meals-program
Call 541-682-1459
Email: [email protected]
