Marion County’s plan to redesign its senior nutrition program has many seniors worried about how they will receive their daily meals, and whether it will cost them more money or time; but the county official who has been working on the plan says the objective is to help meet this need for their clients.

Kim Dorn is the director of the Marion County Public Health Department, and she’s been looking at revising a county nutrition plan which hasn’t changed in decades. The county wants to work with outside agencies such as the Christian Opportunity Center to prepare and deliver meals to seniors around the county, setting up a system which doesn’t require federal funding…and the various regulations tied to that funding, which can get in the way.

Dorn tells KNIA/KRLS News says the plan can help the county save money in the long run, by eliminating the overhead costs associated with the current setup.

“It doesn’t matter whether you do 10 meals or 1,000 meals, those overhead costs stay the same; and if I can eliminate those overhead costs to the best of our ability, and then refocus those dollars on costs that are driven by how many meals are provided, you’re using your money more effectively,” Dorn says.

Dorn previously worked with COC in Oskaloosa, and says this proposed system is similar to what they’ve been using for the last 25 years…and that it has worked well.

A number of senior citizens at a meeting last week said they don’t have any information about how much it may cost them or the public; Dorn says she will present that portion of the plan to the Board of Supervisors at its meeting next week.

For more about the Senior Nutrition Program in Marion County, tune in to today’s edition of Let’s Talk Knoxville.