Final Community Food Connections A Portrait of Participants

A Portrait of Participants Content by Celeste Gotell Design by Celeste Gotell and Janelle AuCoin July 2021

Introduction Guysborough County has the oldest population in Nova Scotia. Over 51% of the total population is 55 years old and 31.1% are 65 years and older. The median age is 55.5 years. With a total of only 7625 residents, covering over 4400 square kilometers, Guysborough County is also the largest municipality. Our participant survey results provided the data on the how this program impacted the lives of over 130 participants who shared their views. As part of the evaluation for the project, we reached out to several participants and asked them to share their stories. Each participant interviewed was provided with a grocery card valued at $50.00 to the store of their choice to thank them for their time. I had the privilege of chatting with several participants from all over Guysborough County and here is what they had to say…

Not only were the meals convenient, especially through the winter, it was also very helpful on the finances. I only had to buy bread, milk and the staples for the past few months. Participant One An avid word search player with always a few puzzles on the go, this man is a 78 year old widower living on his own. His wife passed away three years ago. He has lived in the same community since he married over 50 years ago. When I asked him what brought him to this area, he said his wife was from there, although he was also from a nearby Nova Scotia community. He has three adult children: one that lives locally, another-in a neighbouring community, and one in the city. He considers himself fortunate to have his children close by, although has not able to see them much in the past year due to COVID travel restrictions and isolation requirements. He heard about the program though his home care provider. Before COVID, he had home care services provided more regularly but his hours have been cut back recently, which means he has even less contact with people. He considers himself relatively heathy for his age. Although he does not have any mobility issues, he has diabetes and really appreciated having a selection of meals that he knew were both healthy and tasty. Many of the meals available were not something he would likely prepare for himself living on his own, such as the baked ham or turkey dinner. While he enjoyed all of the meals and liked having a selection, he was partial to the chicken pot pie and the salmon. He felt the coordinator knew his preferences, but from time to time mixed things up a bit for the variety. He really appreciated having the meals delivered; he found this very convenient, especially on the days that he didn’t feel up to preparing a meal.

Days go by when I didn’t see anyone, so having the coordinator come by with my meal delivery was a highlight of the day, even though it was just a brief chat at the door, he is such a pleasant young man. Participant Two This 72-year-old woman, recently widowed, learned about the program through her nephew. She lives alone with some health issues, including chronic arthritic pain. Having meals delivered meant that on days when she wasn’t feeling up to it or was out with appointments, she didn’t have to worry about meal preparation. The selection of entrees provided her with many options that also addressed her special gluten free dietary needs. She found the meals tasty and a great portion size. She really liked the idea of being able to eat when she was hungry whether for lunch, mid-afternoon and or dinner. Her favourite meal was the turkey dinner; living alone this was not something she would prepare for herself. This past year has been especially challenging. Her children live away and the restrictions related to COVID made it difficult for people to visit. She looked forward to the meal delivery each week. She was especially touched when the coordinator appeared at the door with a lovely gift package in his deliveries before Christmas. One of the best parts of participating in the program was the financial help; not having to buy groceries to prepare several meals a week was a big cost saving when on a limited budget.

Programs like this one are so important for people in rural areas living with accessibility and health issues. Participant Three and Four When her social worker referred this couple to the program, the timing could not have come at a more perfect. This 55-year-old woman and her 72-year-old husband both have health issues and things were particularly challenging at that time. Being the primary caregiver for her husband, preparing meals had become an additional burden to his wife. Since home care was reduced due to COVID, she found she was much more exhausted and having the meals delivered was a tremendous help. Not having the energy to prepare meals had often meant not eating healthfully, so the arrival of entrees such as several chicken options and salmon on days when meal preparation was more of an effort, meant she was less stressed, knowing healthy meals were readily available. Not originally from Guysborough County, they moved to the area a few years back with their two dogs and have since made their home. Not only did the program provide several great options for nutritious meals, it was a significant saving financially and helped them feel less socially isolated. They welcomed the visit of the food coordinator when he arrived every couple of weeks to deliver the meals. The five- minute conversations at the door (practicing public health protocols) was a welcome part of the day. “He was a breath of fresh air.” During our zoom interview, I happened to notice beautiful plants in the background, so we had an interesting discussion about caring for a Hoya plant. They definitely both have a green thumb!

Knowing that people care builds us up. Participant Five Although this 68-year-old woman has lived alone for the past three years, she has two children and several grandchildren and considers herself very fortunate her family live in the area. She has mobility issues due to arthritis but that doesn’t stop her from trying to remain active with walking and gardening. She also loves to read. She heard about the program through her daughter and contacted the coordinator to register. Living on a fixed income, the meals really helped out a lot on the grocery bill for the past few months, and they came in handy especially on the days that she didn’t feel up to cooking a meal. She also has diabetes so having healthy meals that were convenient was a big help. While she enjoyed most of the meals, she particularly liked the shepherd’s pie and also discovered later in life that “I really love Mac and Cheese. Had it not been for this program I would have never known this!” A self- described ‘social butterfly’, this participant has found the past year with COVID isolation requirements particularly hard. She looked forward to having the coordinator deliver her meals so she could have a chat with him at the door When asked if she had any ideas about ways the program might be improved on, the only suggestion was possibly more meal options….

Knowing that people care builds us up. Participant Six and Seven This couple have been married for close to 50 years; she is 66-year-old and he is 74. They live in one of the seniors complexes in Guysborough County. They have four children, three living in the province and one who lives away. This past year has been difficult as they have not been able to see their family as often as they would like. They do use Facebook and have been able to stay in touch via video chat. She loves to keep busy and enjoys quilting and knitting in her leisure time. Financially, this program has been a tremendous help; having the meals delivered bi-weekly has certainly saved on buying groceries and was great timing due to health issues. Recently, they have had to do several trips for medical appointments due to her husband’s cancer diagnosis has been difficult financially. When I asked them what they liked most about having the meals, she said that she found it made it easy not to have to prepare meals, “You can just throw them in the oven or the micro-wave, and don’t have to do any planning”. When I asked her husband what he liked most, he replied, “It made things easier on my wife!” Their favourite meals were the Salisbury steak and the sweet and sour chicken. They also enjoyed the bi-weekly delivery and quick chat with the program coordinator, described by them as “a lovely young man”.

Participant Eight This participant, a 77-year- old woman, lives with and is the primary caregiver for her adult son who had a stroke. She has been dealing with arthritis most of her adult life and while at times it has caused a great of pain, she feels fortunate in that her condition is well managed by medication. Born in Guysborough County, she lived in Ontario for many years before moving back home. In addition to her son who lives with her, two other sons have homes in the local area and she is able to see them and her grandchildren. Two children live away, so Facetime has enabled them to stay in touch. When she heard about the program from a friend, this participant called the Coordinator and enrolled. While Home Care is provided for her son, this had been impacted due to COVID, resulting in a bit more responsibility for her. Having the convenience of prepared meals makes things much easier for her at times, especially when she was busy. Her meals were delivered every two weeks. When I asked if she had any favourites, she admitted she tried them all, but especially likes the lasagna and the Salisbury steak. During our conversation, I discovered she enjoys writing poetry and also that years ago she did have some published!

Participant Nine and Ten This couple moved to Guysborough County just three years ago, after living for most of their married life in Alberta. She is 84 years old and her husband is 86. They live in their own home and both have dementia related health issues. She really enjoys knitting, gardening and watching TV. She shared that, with the challenges of caring for her husband who has dementia and her own memory issues as well, it was great to be able to simply take a dinner from the freezer and put it in the micro-wave on those days that she might have forgotten to cook. “Receiving meals delivered weekly was a great help to both of us. It saved a great deal on the grocery expenses.” It also meant that several times a week, she did not have to prepare a meal and that they were getting healthy choices. While they enjoyed the variety of meals provided, they were most fond of the baked ham, turkey dinner and the salmon. She really appreciated when the Coordinator delivered the Christmas package and goodies. An unexpected surprise!

Participant Thirteen This 66 year old woman lives alone in one of the seniors’ housing complexes in the community, having been on her own for several years after becoming a widow. She moved to the area four years ago from another community in Nova Scotia. She has two children who both live away and because of COVID, she has not been able to see them much in the past year. She has nieces that live in a local community. She heard about the program from one of her friends who was a participant and so she also registered before Christmas. She mentioned that she had been dealing with some health issues, so it was great timing and that she really appreciated the support. Receiving a variety of meals that were one serving delivered bi- weekly was a cost saving to her. When she had to be out due to appointments she found it very convenient and it was great to know that all she had to do was grab a meal from the freezer. She did suggest that she found the choices somewhat limited, many were pasta, so she tended to stick to her favorite, like Shepherd’s Pie. She added that one of her favorite parts of the program was “The wonderful young fellow who delivered the meals, he was always so pleasant.”

Participant Fourteen This participant is a single, 58-year-old male, who owns his home and has lived in the community for about 15 years. After spending many years away, he decided he wanted a more rural lifestyle and seized an opportunity to move into a family homestead. He has family in the area and feels connected to his community. He shared that he is on Long Term Disability due to health issues, however he enjoys the outdoors and likes tinkering with small machinery, hunting and fishing. He heard about the program when the Coordinator reached out, following a referral. When I asked what was most beneficial about participating in the program, he advised that since he has a fixed income on a disability pension, receiving the meals helped with his finances. The convenience of the delivery was also great, as he does not have a vehicle. He considers himself a pretty good cook, so he avoided a few meals that he felt were not as tasty; his preferences were the salmon and Salisbury steak. Although he found the program to be very helpful, he mentioned that one of the shortcomings of the meals themselves was that when you micro-waved the meals, there was a liner that stuck to the food. I assured him that I would share this feedback with the distributor. His parents, who are quite elderly, were also participants. However, they opted to withdraw because they found they were not eating the meals as they are set in their ways and preferred their own meals. They wanted someone else to benefit from the program.