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The Cambridge Senior Enrichment Center, aka SACs, offers reasonably priced meals for community members of all ages.
SACs Friendship Cafe offers homemade meals daily for both breakfast and lunch, and it’s meant to be a place for friendship in addition to food.
“We’re nonprofit and the only money we get is a budget from Isanti County in the amount of $14,400 twice per year, which basically only pays for our utilities,” said SACs coordinator Audrey Clough. “That isn’t enough to run a restaurant and then also provide activities.”
“Our question is often how do we fund our restaurant. How do we keep it alive, because at $5.50 per meal it’s hard. Our whole philosophy behind the reasonable price is that we want the seniors to be able to come out and go to a restaurant where they can afford a meal,” she added.
The community offers a very limited amount of places that serve meals that are reasonably priced for seniors, according to Clough. SACs not only focuses on the seniors, but also in providing meals to the community as a whole, families, business people and individuals as well.
“Everything is homemade, for each meal there is a meat, a vegetable, usually a bread and a dessert,” Clough said. “We are open to the public and that’s really what we want people to know. Hopefully by being open to the public we can provide families with the option of coming out and enjoying a great meal for only $5.50.
“We really encourage young people to come join us. This really is a generational place — we especially love to see the little ones,” Clough said.
Clough emphasized the importance of a place like SACs for local seniors and the idea that many people in the community may have the desire to go out, but don’t want to be alone.
“So many seniors are isolated, they don’t get out, so for them to be able to come here is really important. A lot of them are widowed, and it is really important for them to be able to come out and to stay within their comfort zone,” Clough said. “It’s hard for people to go out alone sometimes, and this is a great place for them to go out and be with others like them.”
SACs also provides organized classes and events for those interested, including card games, board games and exercise opportunities. A monthly calendar and newsletter are available for those interested and can be mailed out to homes in order to keep those interested informed. The newsletter currently goes out to more than 800 people in the community and surrounding areas.
“We offer a variety of things for the community. We have classes on Wednesdays — I try to have some kind of educational thing every Wednesday,” Clough said.
Over 1,300 people benefit from SACs offerings per month, between meals, events and other offerings.
“We have card playing, we have bunco, bridge, cribbage, pigs and jokers, and we’re always open to suggestions as well. Whatever it is that our seniors are interested in, we will looking into,” Jeannie Winselman said. “We also offer a variety of classes like genealogy and others like that, and day trips. We offer a lot of day trips down to the cities and different events and tours also. Usually two trips per month.”
With transportation to the Twin Cities provided by the Heartland Express, SACs is able to offer those at a lower cost, allowing seniors the ability to explore the wider community without breaking the bank, according to Clough.
Other offerings include wellness checks for seniors provided by a collaboration between SACs and the nursing program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Cambridge.
“We are here for the community, and our partnerships with other organizations is also important. All of the student nurses do blood pressure checks here all year long. They come on Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They get to deal with real people, rather than just each other, and they educate us as well. I really believe in partnering with the community,” Clough said.
Another program offered, Memory Cafe, focuses on individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. The event offers a break for caretakers by providing programming for the individuals with Alzheimer’s through a partnership with Family Pathways on the second Thursday of every month. It is a time dedicated to sharing personal stories and making connections with others in the same situation.
“It is partnerships like the ones we have with Family Pathways and other local organizations that really keep us afloat and help us to provide all of the things we are able to offer to the community,” Clough said.
In addition to programming partnerships SACs has with businesses, there is also the need for financial support, which comes from a variety of local businesses as well.
“The Shalom Shop gives us $1,000 every month through our partnership as well, and we couldn’t exist without them. It is the donations from businesses and individuals which allow us to stay open,” Clough said.
Donations are always welcome, and volunteers are always needed. For more information on opportunities available through SACs and the Friendship Cafe, visit www.sacsmn.org. SACs is located at 140 Buchanan St. N., Suite 164, Cambridge.