Community members are encouraged by Archuleta Seniors Inc. (ASI) to provide feedback on the needs of local older adult residents and to comment on how well ASI is meeting these needs.
Several focus group discussions and an online survey are part of a countywide effort to gather data that will inform the ASI Board of Directors as it plans for ASI’s senior services provision for the coming three years.
“We want to hear from anyone and everyone interested in maximizing the services and supports available to our community’s seniors,” said ASI Executive Director Rose Chavez. “It is important that all impacted voices are heard. To this end, we are hosting several focus group conversations, and are making the online survey available in both Spanish and English.”
Focus group discussions (sign-up requested) will be held on April 17 (9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.) and April 18 (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.).
Both clients and non-clients of ASI and the Pagosa Senior Center are welcome to participate; refreshments and door prizes will be provided.
Those interested in completing a short survey may visit www.psseniors.org or contact ASI for a printed version of the survey instrument. It is available in Spanish at https://forms.gle/vBDSkEksaZVZmp6DA and in English at https://forms.gle/D7ftzcJFA8HNvrTA8.
ASI’s mission is “To promote independence and advance community resilience by empowering individuals who are 60 years old and better, their families, and other community stakeholders.”
Services’ delivery is driven by the deeply held value that older adults have an important role in the community, and includes provision of meals, social and educational activities, monitoring systems and other caregiver supports, and local referrals.
For further information, to sign up to attend a focus group gathering or to request a printed survey document, contact Chavez at ASI, (970)264-2167 or rosa@psseniors.org.
Spanish Fiesta royalty event set for April 13
Please join us on April 13 at the Archuleta County Extension building as we bring back the timeless tradition of Spanish Fiesta royalty.
Archuleta County’s Hispanic and Latino youth will compete for the coveted positions of king/queen to junior prince/junior princess.
Let’s support our youth in keeping the traditions of our Hispanic, Latino and Archuleta County heritage alive.
Purchase tickets from any of the 15 contestants at https://givebutter.com/SFRoyaltyCompetition.
Join us for an enchilada dinner and the Spanish Fiesta royalty competition from 5 to 7 p.m.
There will be live music featuring Los Mitotitos starting at 7:30 p.m. Crowning of our 2024 royalty will take place between 9 and 10 p.m.
The proceeds will benefit the Spanish Fiesta royalty youth. The Spanish Fiesta royalty committee seeks to provide our Hispanic and Latino youth in Archuleta County the opportunity of representing their community and celebrating their cultural heritage as well as providing them with numerous learning opportunities and valuable leadership skills.
Fresh local produce for older adults to be available this summer
This 2024 growing season, ASI and Terrawalk Farms are partnering with Nourish Colorado to bring low-income older adults (age 55 and older) in Archuleta County locally grown, seasonal, organic produce shares through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
CSAs, or farm memberships, are a means of creating a mutually beneficial connection between consumers and their farmers. These partnerships result in a bi-monthly bounty of vegetables for the subscriber.
If you are interested in participating in this free fresh produce program, you must meet one of the minimum requirements to be selected as a subscriber: being a new or current client of ASI through our congregate, Meals on Wheels, or pick up/Grab-N-Go meal program, or being a resident of the low-income senior housing community (Socorro, Archuleta Housing for the Elderly, Casa De Los Arcos or Lake View Estates).
Participating subscribers will receive a fresh, local, organic produce box alternating weeks throughout the growing season, which spans from June 2 to Sept. 29. Subscribers will pick up their bi-monthly fresh produce boxes either on site at the Ross Aragon Community Center on Tuesdays or at a to-be-determined location on the weekends. Details are still being finalized and subscribers will be notified.
In addition to your weekly food, you will receive the following perks:
• A quarterly newsletter that includes simple, relevant recipes, musings and photos of the farm you support.
• The opportunity to directly support young farmers.
• Optional opportunities to learn and work on the farm. There will be two community days throughout the season. One will be in July and the other in September.
• Attend monthly recipe tastings during ASI’s upcoming Fresh Conversations nutrition education and healthy aging circles from April through September.
Please call (970) 264-2167 or stop by the ASI office at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. to sign up to be considered for this Older Adult Fresh Local Produce Box program.
The first 30 interested clients who meet the minimum requirements will become subscribers and will be eligible to receive their fresh produce boxes throughout the growing season of 2024.
For more information, contact us at (970) 264-2167.
Senior Conversations
Join us Mondays at 1:15 p.m. for a series of “Senior Conversations” with local Bill Salmansohn.
He will lead the group through mindfulness exercises and discussion of various topics pertaining to aging in Archuleta County. Explore and discover for yourself answers to your questions and concerns.
The meeting will be held in the Senior Center in the dining hall. Snacks will be provided.
Pagosa Springs Share lunch Monday through Friday
Join us at the Silver Fox’s Den, aka the Community Cafe, in person for daily hot/cold meals Mondays through Thursdays at the Community Center between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. It is open to all. Pickup is available all week, including Fridays.
Our dining hall is open to all ages and welcomes you all with kindness and warmth. We provide hot/cold meals for anyone in the community interested in a nutritious and delicious meal. For those 60 or older we request a suggested donation of $6, but no one will be turned away. There is a $10.50 charge for guests under the age of 60.
Meals include a main course, side dish, fruit/dessert, garden salad plus beverage. Some popular menu items include Frito chili pie, pork tenderloin with harvest chutney, Singaporean pork ribs, vegetarian lasagna, Hawaiian shrimp with coconut rice and always a beautiful green salad. Many of our items are locally sourced and organic.
Our chef works with a team of local food professionals to hand-prepare your meal for dine-in service in our cozy dining room (with an amazing view of the San Juans) or for takeout (via our convenient drive-through). Our menu changes daily.
To reserve your meal for the day, please make your reservation via text or phone call to (970) 264-2167 by 9 a.m. weekdays.
Community Cafe menu
Thursday, April 4 — Beef spaghetti, garlic bread, broccoli, garden salad, fruit and milk.
Friday, April 5 — Baked Codfish, orzo pasta, zucchini medley, garden salad, fruit and milk.
Monday, April 8 — Tuscan white bean and kale soup, ciabatta bread, garden salad, fruit, vanilla yogurt and milk.
Tuesday, April 9 — Chicken cashew salad on croissant, deviled eggs, broccoli salad, garden salad, fruit, Key lime pie and milk.
Wednesday, April 10 — Beef pot roast with root veggies, mashed potatoes, garden salad, fruit, sunrise muffin and milk.
Thursday, April 11 — Salmon cakes with tartar sauce, sauteed greens, garden salad, fruit and milk.
Friday, April 12 — Pork tenderloin with Burgundy peppercorn sauce, baked sweet potatoes, garden salad, fruit, banana brunch cake and milk.
Grab-N-Go meals
Dine-in and Grab-N-Go meal reservations and cancellations are required. Please call or text by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you want to pick up a meal. A suggested donation of $6 helps to sustain our program. For ages 59 and younger, the cost is $10.50. No one will be turned away for their inability to donate. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to make a reservation.
Meals on Wheels
We deliver fresh Meals on Wheels five days a week (and provide frozen Meals on Wheels for weekends) to homebound Archuleta County residents. Call or text us at (970) 264-2167.
Mobile food pantry service discontinued
The Mobile Food Pantry Service has been discontinued due to funding shortages. Older adults needing a ride to a local food pantry should contact the MET to schedule a ride with its paratransit service. For more information, contact Lavonne at (970) 264-2250.
Text reservations
Don’t forget that we offer a convenient texting service for you to communicate with us. Text us at (970) 264-2167. When texting, please include your name, phone number and the days you want a meal. If you are canceling a reservation, please include your name, phone number and the days you want to cancel.
Texting services are available for dine-in meal reservations, Grab-n-Go meals and Meals on Wheels recipients.
COVID-19 test kits available
Stop by the Senior Center to pick up a pack of six free COVID-19 tests kits for your personal use. These kits are available to anyone in the public who needs affordable access for health promotion and disease prevention.
Supporting ASI
Please support our ongoing operations and programming that provide critical services to some of the most vulnerable in Archuleta County.
You may mail your donation to P.O. Box 3444, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 or please visit our website, http://www.psseniors.org/ (donation button). Donation checks can be written to: Archuleta Seniors Inc. We are located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. For more information about Archuleta Seniors Inc., please visit http://www.psseniors.org/.
There is also another way to donate.
Are you 70 and half years old or better? Do you have an IRA from which you need to take a distribution? Did you know you can make charitable donations directly from your IRA without paying taxes on the distribution, up to $100,000 per year? The donation from the account would be payable to Archuleta Seniors Inc. and sent to P.O. Box 344, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. This gift option is called the IRA charitable rollover or qualified charitable distribution.
