This grant through Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) helps make possible the City's Nutrition Site Program offered through the Parks/Recreation/Tourism Department's Senior Adult Services Division. The Program is offered to area seniors, 60 years and over and their spouses, as well as disabled individuals, 18 years and over. Lunches are offered at the Palmer Recreation Center, Monday through Friday. Home delivered meals are available to those individuals that are homebound and meet program guidelines.

In previous years, the City has applied for and received grant funding annually from MARC for operating expenses associated with salaries for personnel to operate the Nutrition Site. In 2018, MARC changed their application process and funding tiers for qualifying agencies. In response, the Parks/Recreation/Tourism Department staff submitted a Community Center Proposal to MARC for The Palmer Center. Following review by the Board of Directors of MARC, the City was selected to provide Community Center Services at the Urban Gold tier level for $30,000 in grant funding annually for up to four years for administering the program.  This amount was included in the adopted current fiscal year budget.

Each year the grant is amended based on available funding for additional services. The proposed Ordinance would increase appropriations by $173,443 for Senior Adult Services, designated as follows: $18,750 for transportation, $10,000 for assessments, $20,000 for evidenced-based programming, and $124,693 for new projects under the special congregate and home delivered meals funding.

Funds for operation of the City's Senior Adult Nutrition Site program will be deposited to 007-3275 and expensed from appropriate Parks/Recreation/Tourism Department salary and benefit accounts.

Funds for participant transportation will be deposited to the Parks & Recreation Grant Fund and expensed from account 6050-5240-MARCS.

Funds for In Home/HDM assessments/reassessments and Frozen HDM delivery will be deposited to the Parks & Recreation Grant Fund and expensed appropriately from 6050-5100-MARCS, 6050-5101-MARCS, and 6050-5309-MARCS.

Funds for evidence-based disease prevention/health promotion programs will be deposited to the Parks & Recreation Grant Fund and expensed from 6050-5309-MARCS.

Funds for new projects under the special congregate and home delivered meals funding will be deposited to the Parks & Recreation Grant Fund and expensed from accounts 6050-5100-MARCS, 6050-5101-MARCS, 6050-5240-MARCS, and 6050-5309-MARCS.