Senior food service restructures as Northland College closes

ASHLAND, Wis. (Northern News Now) – Whether it’s hot and ready to eat or packaged for delivery, a meal is more than just food for some it’s a point of contact.

Many seniors rely on services in Ashland and Bayfield Counties for lunch and a smile.

Those services, however, have relied on the soon-to-closed Northland College.

Non-profit Ashland County Aging Unit Inc. is losing a critical piece of operating infrastructure with Northland College closing, as Chartwell’s Dining Services filled that role of preparing meals.

“All of our home delivered and our bulk congregate food comes out of this facility,” Executive Director of Ashland County Aging Unit Inc. Laura Nagro said.

Nagro says Ashland County’s Aging Unit serves 150 meals a day on average, five days a week, with 441 people using their services in 2023.

They also say the meal is just one aspect.

“People in general, when they’ve been isolated, don’t have the context or don’t have the ways of talking out everyday troubles, that’s the big thing about the meals is the welfare check, so these meals help keep people alive,” Nagro said.

This goes for Bayfield County as well as they also use Chartwell’s’ Dining Services to feed those in need.

“It’s a value-added service to us, it’s not just a meal, it provides a connection to that person with the Department of Human Services in Bayfield County,” Bayfield County Director of Human Services Elizabeth Skulan said.

While the vendors at Northland’s Dining Services and Chartwell’s are closing, the Ashland County Aging Unit says it’s less of a closure and more of a restructure as they look for new avenues.

“We are going to be working with some of the smaller school districts down in the southern end of the county. There’s some small restaurants that are going to help us with our congregate. We’re really looking for someone who can help with packaging home-delivered meals,” Nagro said.

Bayfield County is looking to do the same but hasn’t locked down any local vendors to help.

However, they have a backup through current county services if needed.

“There are different options that we might take if we were to produce all the meals in Bayfield County. It might mean expanding the food service that currently exists,” Skulan said.

Both Ashland and Bayfield Counties say these dining services will continue, just in different ways.

Both groups say the need for these services only continues to grow as the community gets older.

The final day for Chartwell’s’ operation at Northland College is the end of May.

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