The Soldotna Senior Center on Friday announced that they’d been awarded a grant from the State Department of Health to expand meal service, transportation and other support to their seniors.

A release from Soldotna Area Senior Citizens, the nonprofit that operates the center, says that they’ve received a grant that will pay around $294,000 annually for three years, a total of around $881,000. The grant, per the release, “will enable us to restore financial stability and expand essential services for seniors aged 60 and older throughout our community.”

Specifically, the grant will be used to provide meals in the center and delivered to homes; to provide transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping and other errands; and to support educational programming and benefits counseling, among other things.

The release says that the center previously used to benefit from the grant program, from 1986 until 2023, but in recent years has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide the essential services.

In 2023, several Soldotna seniors spoke out against leadership at the center, which has since been completely reorganized. Despite the changes, some funding lost during that period has yet to be restored — the City of Soldotna in its current biennial budget through 2027 directs $0 to the Soldotna Senior Center.

The release says that Soldotna Area Senior Citizens has gone through “significant” restructuring, has a new board of directors and new financial oversight. The nonprofit has also brought on an accounting firm “to conduct comprehensive audits that confirmed our financial stability and capacity to manage federal grant funds effectively.”

“I am grateful to the State of Alaska and the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services for their confidence in our organization,” Executive Director Lisa Riley writes in the release. “This grant enables us to continue our mission of helping seniors maintain their quality of life and independence in the communities they love.”

Meals are served at the center Monday through Friday from noon to 1 p.m. Transportation is available by appointment. For more information, visit soldotnaseniorcenter.org or call 907-262-2322.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.