Larimore senior center describes services and funding supported by one-mill levy

Representatives of the Larimore Senior Center told the Grand Forks County Commission that the center depends on a mix of grants, donations, a one-mill levy and 20 years of savings to operate and to fund recent capital work such as a new parking lot. The presenter listed routine expenses — grease and supplies $4,379, wages $6,224, new purchases $297, administration $340 and entertainment for members $999 — and said the center serves as a daily gathering space for seniors and a community meeting site where voting occurs.

Cecil Tinderholt of Northwood Senior Citizens gave membership and service totals: 201 members and 8,525 meals served last year, including 1,723 home-delivered meals for 5–6 homebound clients who rely on Tuesday and Thursday deliveries. "Without the meals we deliver, they could not live in their homes," Tinderholt said, describing routine welfare checks when a delivery recipient does not answer the door.

Commissioners pressed staff about program costs and eligibility rules. Staff said the center’s 2026 per-meal cost is $10.25, the suggested donation is $4.25 and the average donation collected is about $1.76; federal guidelines prohibit means-testing for the federally supported meal program, and eligibility is 60 and older plus spouses. The presenter said targeting exists for outreach to people in poverty, rural areas and other at-risk populations but that the program currently has no wait list.

Volunteers, who described daily kitchen operations and a frozen-meal program that reduces waste, asked the commission to consider the center’s value as the board weighs overall budget priorities. Commissioners and attendees praised the volume of volunteers and the center’s role in preventing senior isolation.

The commission took no separate formal action on this presentation; the senior-center overview was received and commissioners moved on to other agenda items.