Senior says he may do without meal

Senior says he may do without meal

BY ROBERT FOX
STAFF WRITER
RFOX@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

So far, the effects of the 25 percent budget cut to the Comanche County Nutrition Project haven’t been felt by those who use it.
Bob Burger, 77, still isn’t happy that the nutrition project received such a deep budget cut. He said so far it hasn’t hit the people who use the program, but it’s coming. He said Julie Justice, Comanche County project director, has done a “tremendous job” of minimizing the impact of the budget cut on the people who use the nutrition project.
“As usual they (legislators) are balancing the budget on the backs of seniors,” he said, and he’s confident there is another solution to the budget shortfall without cutting the nutrition project.
Burger eats at Pleasent Valley Nutrition Center every day it’s open. He said if a second round of budget cuts forces Justice to close the centers for one day a week, it may mean that he has to do without a meal that day.
“I’ll deal with that when the time comes,” he said.
Burger said he’s been using the nutrition program for about 11 years because it helps supplement his diet.
“It’s more than just a feeding site,” he said, “I think that’s something the lawmakers have lost sight of.”
The centers provide many seniors with a chance to socialize that they otherwise wouldn’t have, he said.
“With seniors, that socialization with other people is very important,” he said.
Lettie Davis, on the other hand, says while she may not agree with the budget cuts, she understands that with the shortfall, budgets were going to be reduced.
Davis, who eats at the Patterson Community Center, said she would rather see the centers open on a reduced budget than see the program scrapped all together.
“I say they gotta do what they gotta do,” she said.
Davis said if other centers closed even one day a week, it would be a hardship for the seniors who count on the nutrition project for a meal.
She said she attended a question-and-answer session with Ken Jones, who oversees administration of 32 nutrition sites in eight counties including Comanche County, and she is confident that Patterson Center won’t be closing any time soon.

JEFF DIXON/STAFF
Harvey Reid, volunteer site manager, serves lunch to Vernice Stuart, front, and Kathy Elam at the Paradise Valley Nutrition Center Friday.