An Oconto Falls business has created a successful partnership with a Marinette County elderly services agency to provide in-person and delivered meals to Oconto County residents.
Becky Pytak and her husband, David, own and operate The Main Course, which has been based at the Oconto Falls Community and Senior Center for the past year.
The Pytaks provide meals three days a week through the Meals on Wheels program while also running The Main Course three days a week out of the senior center after moving the business from Main Street in Oconto Falls.
“David is the main cook and I do a lot of the managing,” Becky Pytak said. “He probably does 75% of the cooking, and I do 25%.”
On a typical day, the Pytaks and their staff will cook food for delivered meals, meals served at the senior center and food for The Main Course.
About 25 people will go to the senior center for lunch starting at noon, and Pytak also prepares home-delivered meals for about 60 people.
Most people that come in for lunch live alone or are older, Pytak said.
“You have to be 60, that’s the only requirement, for eating here,” she said. “There’s a tiny bit more when it comes to delivery, but usually, if you’ve been in the hospital or are living alone and don’t have regular transportation, you generally quality for delivery. It’s nice that they can have a homemade meal.”
The Pytaks come up with a menu for each month. Baked haddock is a popular Meals on Wheels menu item, according to Pytak.
“As the months go by, you figure out what people really like,” Pytak said. “Baked haddock is something we do twice a month because they love it and it brings in quite a few people.”
About 75% of those that eat at the senior center come in all three days.
“They like it because they’re older,” Pytak said. “Some of them might have failing health. Some of them are just tired of cooking for two people.”
There is a suggested donation of $5 for each meal served at the senior center and $6 for each delivered meal.
“They get the whole meal and then they get milk, fruit and three times a month, I make a dessert,” Pytak said. “A lot of people appreciate the cost of the meal.”
The Main Course is hired through Marinette County to provide catered food and manage the site. Marinette County handles arrangements for Marinette and Oconto counties.
“It’s worked out for the senior center having someone here regularly,” Pytak said. “It brings more people into the building. We do activities before (lunch). We do bingo, cards, crafts. Sometimes, there are people who come and talk. Bingo is the big thing.”
Meals on Wheels meals are served starting at noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while The Main Course is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
People that show up at the senior center are asked to make a reservation at least a day in advance so Pytak can plan how many meals to prepare. Reservations can be made by calling 920-373-7717.
Olivia Cherry is executive director of Marinette County Elderly Services, which oversees the Meals on Wheels program for Oconto and Marinette counties.
Last year, the senior nutrition program served 54,448 meals between the two counties, including 2,205 in-person meals and 15,659 home-delivered meals in Oconto County; and 13,130 in-person meals and 27,454 home-delivered meals in Marinette County.
“Oconto Falls is just one of our eight senior dining locations throughout Marinette and Oconto counties,” Cherry said. “Now that Becky and David are here catering the meals for this site, I don’t have to worry too much about Oconto Falls, because they do a great job.”
Other locations in Oconto County are located at the Mountain Community Center, 13413 state highways 32 and 64, Mountain, where meals are served at noon Tuesdays and Thursdays; and River City Diner and Smokehouse, 805 Brazeau Ave., Oconto, where meals are served from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays.
Reservations for the Mountain site can be made by calling 715-850-3773. Reservations in Oconto can be made by calling 715-854-7453.
Marinette’s locations are in Goodman, Niagara, Crivitz, Peshtigo and Marinette and serve meals from one to four days a week, depending on the location.
Anyone interested in receiving home-delivered meals in either county through the Meals on Wheels program can contact Marinette County Elderly Services and be screened to see if they qualify.
Cherry said she’s noticed an increase in the number of home-delivered meal inquiries because of the current economy.
“Obviously, food and fuel costs haven’t been great for anybody,” she said. “That affects our program as well. About two-thirds of the state has a wait list for home-delivered meals and we do not. We’ve been trying really hard over the last few years to not have a wait list. Right now, we will reach anybody in Marinette or Oconto counties who needs them.”
Cherry wants to spread the word about in-person dining at the meal sites in both counties.
“We can feed a lot of people at our locations,” she said. “Anybody over the age of 60 can come to any of those locations and get a meal. It’s not easy to cook for one or two people.”
Government programs subsidize the cost of the meal to keep it affordable for seniors.
“Our full-meal cost is about $14.50, but in order to keep the program affordable and have people participate, we ask for a suggested donation of $5 in-person and $6 home-delivered,” Cherry said.
Cherry and Pytak said it’s important to offer programs such as Meals on Wheels.
“Every year, our drivers find an emergency,” Cherry said. “They always follow the same procedure every delivery if there would be an emergency. We recently had a gentleman that had an emergency and the driver called 9-1-1, stayed with him until help arrived and then went on with his deliveries. That man ended up in intensive care and eventually was able to go back home a few days later. Without that driver being there that day, finding him and calling for help, it could have been a different scenario.”
Pytak said the arrangement has worked well for her business, local Meals on Wheels coordinators and those who receive the meals, whether at the senior center or at their home.
“When we moved to the senior center so we could cook for Meals on Wheels, it was one of the greatest blessings God has given me aside from my family,” she said. “We feel like we are doing more of a service for the community now. Seeing the people during the dine-in meal warms my heart. They are happy, smiling and always so appreciative and caring.”
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Becky Pytak, left, and Olivia Cherry work together to provide thousands of in-person and home-delivered meals each year in Oconto County through the Meals on Wheels program. Pytak’s restaurant, The Main Course, located at the Oconto Falls Community and Senior Center, provides meals three times a week throughout Oconto County. Cherry is the executive director of Marinette County Elderly Services, which manages the Meals on Wheels program for both counties. (Greg Seubert)
