Center for disabled adults hopes to raise profile in community

The Howard Training Center in Ceres turns out more than 12,000 meals a month while employing disabled adults who would not otherwise have the opportunity to work.

Executive Director Carla Strong said she has come to realize many people are not aware of the nonprofit center or have forgotten “we are here.”

As it begins an annual fund drive, the nonprofit hopes to establish a stronger presence and raise the bar for its fundraising.

The center is faced with raising about $150,000 annually for the senior meals program it runs for Stanislaus County, because federal money does not cover the costs of preparing and delivering meals to home-bound seniors.

Strong is talking with officials at the Area Agency on Aging about ideas for long-term planning.

“I am confident they are going to meet our contract for this year,” said Jill Erickson, a manager and nutritionist for the agency. “They need to have a plan in place to raise funds. You have to be a strong nonprofit to continue to raise funds and get support from the community.”

The nonprofit was struggling to make ends meet when Strong took over as director in October. Former director Claudia Miller managed the nonprofit for years but was followed by directors with shorter stints.

According to billing statements, the nonprofit was behind on paying $46,600 to a food supplier and was faced with losing its employee health coverage in December unless it paid $18,500 to Kaiser Permanente. Modesto Irrigation District threatened to turn off electric service over a $1,652 bill.

Strong said the center is current on payments to Kaiser, and she negotiated payment plans with other vendors to pay off back debt and keep current with bills.

Cost-cutting measures, such as stopping a $4,000-a-month GPS tracking service, and other belt-tightening has stabilized the center, Strong said.

Staff members have gone without raises for five years. People hired to replace those who left came in with lesser salaries. Strong said her annual salary is $30,000 less than what her predecessor was paid.

“I will tell you it’s stressful every month but everybody is getting paid and everybody is getting served,” the director said.

Strong, a former branch manager for Westamerica Bank, has brought business skills and experience with community work to the job. The Rotarian has been involved with charitable projects and was citizen of the year in Riverbank in 2009.

The Howard Center’s senior meals contract with the county, which began in 2006, pays a flat rate of $4.50 for each meal served at senior centers and $5 for meals delivered to homes.

Monthly payments from the county are around $73,000 and are not supposed to provide a profit margin. Erickson said the federally funded program requires matching dollars from local government and the service provider.

The nonprofit is required to take care of the 22 county-owned vans that deliver 4,800 meals to senior centers and similar facilities and 11,300 meals to homes each month.

The Howard Center also has catering contracts to provide meals for the county’s Psychiatric Health Facility in Ceres and the Hospice House in Hughson. All of that food is prepared by a kitchen staff of 27 developmentally disabled adults and their job coaches.

Disabled adults are also put to work in a production facility, take care of landscaping in a contract with Ceres and clean rest areas for the California Department of Transportation.

Strong said the employment programs are designed to be a revolving door, giving the clients job skills for moving into the workforce. And some of them are able to work for private businesses.

Families rely on the center to provide day services for lower-functioning adults. The ratio for those services is one instructor for every three clients, Strong said.

Bonnie Moon of Modesto put labels on wine bottles in the Production Unlimited program before joining the kitchen crew.

“I am learning to cook more and better for myself,” Moon said. “We are making meatloaf from scratch today and we just did breakfast.”

Laney Baxley of Modesto said the job definitely “means a lot to me.”

Kayrin Dovichi-Coddington worked as a regional manager overseeing food service for retirement centers before accepting a job as chef for Howard Training Center this year.

“I had been looking to do nonprofit work for years,” she said. “It is a challenge because every participant learns differently. It is beyond rewarding.”

The kitchen prepares the meals under strict dietary guidelines from the county. Staff members said they’re unable to make mashed potatoes from scratch, because a requirement to use a product containing vitamin C and the restrictions make it difficult to economize on food costs.

Among the ideas for improving fundraising is finding a corporate sponsor for the Howard Training Center. The organization with a $7 million annual budget is known for its annual crab feed that helps support day programs; it also has a spaghetti dinner and a trapshooting event to raise funds.

Strong said she’s working on other sources of funding, such as renting meeting space to a major grocery chain and developing its catering business. The center showed off its Arc Catering to the public at Thursday’s Edible Extravaganza in Modesto.

Jo Anne Mooney, who’s on a one-year hiatus from the board, said her sister has worked in the kitchen for 27 years. She believes the center provides invaluable services for disabled adults.

“They have meaningful lives and they learn to be independent,” Mooney said. “These people are part of our community.”

Besides delivering food to homes, Erickson said, the county meals program provides safety checks for isolated seniors.

“Sometimes the only contact these seniors have is the driver who delivers to their home,” Erickson said. “You are surprised how desperate they are for conversation.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Center for disabled adults hopes to raise profile in community."