HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Sr Ctr Food Service Program OF DU���
14 82 AGENDA STATEMENT
PARKS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION
MEETING DATE: April 20, 2009
SUBJECT: Senior Center Food Service Programs
Report Prepared by Paul McCreary, Assistant Director of Parks
and Community Services
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Sample Menu
RECOMMENDATION: Receive report and recommend the food service programs not be
modified at this time.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION: The City Council has a 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 to not make any
modifications to 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 food service programs include the "Shamrock Cafe" lunch program, monthly special luncheons and
the Crossing Cultures 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.
The City of Dublin's program is unique from other senior centers, which typically offer congregate meal
programs. In these 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.
COPIES TO: Senior Center Advisory Committee
ITEM NO.: 8.1
G:\PARKS COMMISSION\AGNDSTMT\2009\5-18 Item 8.1 Senior Center Food Programs.doc
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. The
attendance averaged 28 people per day for the regular lunch program, 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 $1.50
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) $6.501$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 for the
lunch program for Fiscal Year 2008-2009.
Total Program Revenue $33,975
Total Program m 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 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. "
`7first 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!"
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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 a breakeven analysis considering the fixed and variable costs for the
program. The Senior Center would need to serve an average of at least 130 meals per day in order to
breakeven. This would be almost a 300% 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
The City of Dublin operates food service programs that have been well received by customers, which is
evidenced by the 11% increase in participation during the past year. As noted earlier, when the Advisory
Committee proposed this objective they thought that 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 the report to the Senior Center Advisory Committee on May 7. 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.
If the Parks and Community Services Commission agrees that the food service programs should not be
expanded, Staff will present this recommendation to the City Council. If the Parks and Community
Services Commission wants to expand food service programs, Staff would need input from the
Commission on specific program recommendations. Staff would then evaluate alternatives to achieve
those recommendations in a cost-neutral manner (i.e. no increase in net cost to the City). These
alternatives could include but not be limited to the following:
1. Re-allocation of existing food service program hours (i.e. serving dinner instead of lunch one
day per week).
2. Changing the daily lunch program to a traditional congregate meal program.
3. Investigating feasibility of leasing the kitchen to a private catering or concession vendor.
4. Increasing menu prices.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Parks and Community Services
Commission receive the report and recommend the food service programs not be modified at this time.
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