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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.5 Sr Center Food SvcorDU~~r~ CITY CLERK X11 File # ^©0~'©0 ~~ $2 1 ,~ ~- 1/ ~~'ArT~„-.rr11~ AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: June 16, 2009 SUBJECT: Senior Center Food Service Programs Report prepared by Paul McCreary, Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services ATTACHMENTS: 1. Sample Weekly Lunch Menu RECOMMENDATION: Receive report and direct Staff to continue to operate the Senior Center food service programs at the current service level ~- • ~~~~~ FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION: The City Council has a Fiscal Year 2008-2009 high priority objective to investigate options for expanding Senior Center food service programs and hours. This objective was proposed by the Senior Center Advisory Committee. The members at the time wanted Staff to consider expanding hours and providing a wider variety of cafe style "to-go" foods. The following provides an overview of the program and the recommendation from Staff, and the Senior Center Advisory Committee and Parks and Community Services Commission, to not modify the program. LUNCH PROGRAM OVERVIEW The purpose of the Senior Center's food service programs is to augment the nutritional needs of older adults by providing fresh, healthy and affordable lunches. The program has many benefits other than nutrition. These include getting out, socializing, and even having participants volunteer their own time. This is a great way to combat loneliness and make new friends. The Senior Center food service programs include the "Shamrock Cafe" lunch program, monthly special themed luncheons, and the bi-monthly "Crossing Cultures" luncheons. The focus of this report is on the Shamrock Cafe lunch program. The Shamrock Cafe operates Monday through Friday in the Ballroom at the Senior Center. Orders are taken from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. each day. While orders are taken until 12:15 p.m., customers are welcome to stay in the Ballroom until 1:00 p.m. to enjoy their meal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPY TO: Senior Center Advisory Committee Page 1 of 3 ITEM NO. G:\COUNC[L\Agenda Statements\2009\6-16 Senior Food Program.doc The City of Dublin's lunch program is unique from other senior centers, which typically offer congregate meal programs. In those cases the food is prepared offsite, and then re-heated and served by volunteers at the senior center. The City of Dublin employs two Cooks to coordinate menu planning, shopping and food preparation. One cook works four days per week and the other one day per week. Meals are prepared onsite daily and served fresh. The menu varies based on requests from customers and shopping the grocery specials. Attachment 1 is a recent weekly menu. The lunch program features an a-la-carte format, except on Thursdays, which is a full hot meal. The a-la-carte menu features sandwiches, salads, soups, desserts and daily specials. The a- la-carte menu provides flexibility for customers who may not want a full meal. For example, customers can order whole or half-sandwiches, and soups can be ordered by the bowl or cup. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND COSTS From March 2008 through February 2009 there were 8,141 meals served at the Senior Center. Attendance for the regular lunch program averaged 28 people per day, and 72 people per special luncheon. This was an 11 % increase over the prior year. Following are the current menu prices. Main Course (Whole Sandwich or Bowl of Soup) $2.00 Side Dish (Half Sandwich, Cup of Soup, or Salad) $1.50 Dessert $1. SO A-La Carte Meal Deal (One main course and two side dishes) $4.00 Hot Meal Deal (Thursdays) $3.75 Special Luncheons (Includes full meal and entertainment) $6.50/$7.50 non-res. The Parks and Community Services Department typically prices programs to recover 100% of the direct costs of providing the program. The lunch program however has never been priced to recover the direct costs, resulting in an annual cost to the City. The following is a summary of the net program cost budgeted for the lunch program for Fiscal Year 2008-2009. Total Program Revenue $33,975 Total Program Expenditures $61,620 Net Program Cost $27,645 The average cost to prepare each meal is $7.57 including groceries and staff time (does not include utilities or overhead such as equipment repairs and maintenance). The fees charged to customers recoups an average of $4.17 per meal, resulting in an average net cost to the City of $3.40 to provide each meal at the Senior Center. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH EXISTING PROGRAM Staff regularly conducts customer satisfaction surveys for the food service programs at the Senior Center. The program consistently receives excellent ratings and favorable reviews from customers. Customers have been pleased with the food, as well as the program operations, menu prices and staffing/volunteers. "I want to take this opportunity to say I've been having lunch with you prior to my art class for some time ....... My compliments to the chef ..... Thank you for providing such a nice environment for us seniors. " "Everyone enjoyed lunch (which was delicious). What a great bargain for all of us!" "I am a regular participant in your monthly lunch parties and Crossing Cultures Program. I enjoy coming to the Dublin Senior Center and trying out new food. I have never been disappointed when I come here for lunch. " ~ ~-- f' r "I first noticed how helpful your volunteers are. It's a pleasure to be here. Iliked the delicious lunch the best. " "The food was delicious -melted in my mouth. Best we've ever had. I have no suggestions because it was all perfect. " "The food was delicious and plentiful -Hats off to the chef. " EXPANSION OF LUNCH HOURS When proposing this objective in December 2007, the Advisory Committee at the time thought there may be a need to expand the service hours for the lunch program. Some of the Advisory Committee Members thought this would increase participation in the lunch program by providing more flexibility for customers. Currently lunch orders are taken for 45-minutes (11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.) and the lunch room is open for 90-minutes (11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.). Staff has not received any requests from the public to expand the lunch hours and the current hours are meeting the needs of existing customers. Staff does not recommend expanding the hours of the lunch program. The existing schedule. is working well and increasing service hours would result in higher salary and benefit costs. Although expanding hours may increase the number of lunch orders, the additional revenue would not be enough to offset the additional costs. Staff conducted abreak-even analysis considering the fixed and variable costs for the program. The Senior Center would need to serve an average of 130 meals per day in order to breakeven. This would be almost a 350% increase over the current level of participation. Raising the menu prices to help make up the difference does not seem feasible during these challenging economic times. Expanding hours would also preclude use of the Ballroom for recreational activities. EXPANSION OF FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS As noted earlier, when the Advisory Committee proposed this objective, the Committee Members thought the food service programs should be expanded to include cafe-style to-go foods, and some breakfast and dinner events. However any expansion of food service programs would result in additional cost to the City. Based on the current economic conditions the City is not in a position to expand programs or services. SUMMARY Staff presented this report to the Senior Center Advisory Committee on May 7, 2009. The Advisory Committee concurred with Staff and unanimously voted to recommend not modifying the program at this time. However, the Advisory Committee requested that Staff bring back a report identifying promotional techniques that could be used to try and attract more customers. On May 18, 2009, Staff presented the report and Advisory Committee recommendation to the Parks and Community Services Commission, which unanimously agreed to maintain the current service level. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the City Council receive the report and direct Staff to continue to operate the Senior Center food service programs at the current service level. ~. .. ~ ~ ""~~ Dublin Senior Center wA Warm and Friendly Place to be:" 760o Atnador Valley Bivd. (9Z5) SSb-4511 SHAM ROCK CAFE 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Monda Tuesda Wednesda Thursda Frida 6/8 6/9 6/10 6/11 6/12 Half $1.50 1. Entree Tuna Melt Chicken Enchilada Scalloped Potato & Stuffed Potato w/ Whole$2.00 Casserole Ham Casserole Father's Day Lunch Broccoli & Cheese 2.Entree Roast Beef Cold Turkey Cheese & Tomato $6.50 Resident BLT Sandwich Sandwich Sandwich Sandwich $7.50 Non-resident Cup $1.50 Soup Chicken Cream of Tomato Black Eyed Pea Beefy Rice Soup Bowl $2.00 Vegetable Soup OR Soup Barbeque beef Cream of Potato Coleslaw Soup Baked beans Cornbread $1.50 Salad Jello & Fruit Garden Salad 3 Bean Salad Ice cream sundae Marinated Tomato $1.50 Dessert Banana Pudding Peach Cobbler Fresh Cake Jello Jewels Lunch Meal Choose one from group A: whole sandwich or bowl of soup. Deal $4.00 Choose two from group B: half sandwich, cup of soup, salad or dessert Available Monda ,Tuesda ,Wednesda ,and Frida .Not available on Thursdn . Menu subject to change according to availability and seasonality of food. Walk-ins welcome, no reservations required for lunch on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. NOTE: Reservations are required for lunch on Thursday. We can have a meal reserved just for you if you pre-register and pay by the Friday prior to the date of the lunch. Otherwise walk-ins are accepted on a first- acome,first-served basis. ~~ (\- ~° =---~ ~ -- d ~~