Service Groups and Faith Alliance
3/26/24
In attendance: Stephanie Thurm, Meals on Wheels Wake; Bethany Wilkins, Meals on Wheels Wake; Kathleen Lee, White Oak Foundation; Pamela Manning, White Oak Foundation; Dana Devane-Webster, Called to Peace Ministries; Phil Welch, Apex Housing Advisory Board; Brianne Gill, Town of Apex; Jai Whittington, Summit Church; Michael Prince, Apex PD; John Spitzer, Apex PD; Khea Morton, Apex PD; Larry Eckart, Jordan Lutheran; Steve Chriscoe, F3 Peak City; Keith Fortier, Agape of NC; Officer V. Carter, Apex PD; Mike Noel, Cornerstone Fellowship Church; Niki Miller, Shield NC; Leslie Lockhart, Shield NC; Officer K. Ragland, Apex PD, Chief Jason Armstrong, Apex PD; Deputy Chief Mitch McKinney, Apex PD
- Officer Ragland called meeting to order, and all attendees introduced themselves and gave announcements. Phil Welch announced the April 27th Apex Housing Fair, at the Apex Senior Center 9-1pm. This was expanded from last year’s home repair fair. He also encouraged attendees to sign a petition for keeping manufactured home communities as is in Apex. Keith Fortier mentioned there is an upcoming breakfast with pastors. Khea Morton announced an April 18th breakfast for Apex Connections with churches and non-profits together.
Featured speaker for the meeting was Stephanie Thurm, Asst Director of Program Services for Meals on Wheels Wake.
- Stephanie started at MOW in 2020
- Due to the pandemic, they shifted and grew meal options
- Meals are delivered 5 days a week to homes, mainly to Seniors, there is no income basis
- They also have a frozen program, which is 5 meals a week
- They also have Friendship Cafes located around the county for dining in, including in Apex at White Oak Foundation
- They also provide activities and education events at the Friendship Cafes
- If clients are unexpectedly not home to receive meal, they have a daily check-in process for a wellness check
- They have many resources, contacts, and partnerships for their clients for other needs like the SPCA for pet needs, or Med Assist for OTC meds
- They focus to keep clients safely and healthy in their own homes as long as possible
- 3 new sites have opened in pandemic, which were first new in decade.
- They strive for quantity over diversity with their meals
- They serve approx 1300 meals a day consisting of a standard american diet
- They can not accommodate special diets yet like gluten free etc
- The Apex Home Delivery program is housed at United church
- Meals are primarily delivered by volunteers
- Meals are prepared centrally and taken from there
- Work with Food Runners Collaborative and Interfaith Food Shuttle
- Volunteers are not officially background checked, and there is no certain commitment
- They have a MOW Scheduler platform, and Mobile Meals app to track clients, locations, homes, and notes
- If a client misses a delivery, they are put on hold until a well check call can be made and reach them
- The demand pre-pandemic was about 1000. It goes up and down but in general has risen to 1300 avg.
- They are currently on a waitlist of about 30-40 people which can worked thru in 3-4 weeks with current staff
- The community can help by: volunteering, doing food drives, breakfast bags, host activity, present a topic, holiday gifts, greeting cards
- They are mostly government funded, plus some fundraising
Apex PD has a well check program that can be opted in for Apex. It is an automated call or text daily, then a call to the emergency contact, and finally a home visit
Chief Jason Armstrong spoke about his support and encouragement of the SGFA.
Deputy Chief Mitch McKinney introduced himself. From Colorado originally and came here for job.