Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Senior Advocate: Campbell resident Debbie Kranefuss, 45, is the director of the Live Oak Senior Nutrition Center in Los Gatos. The center runs a nonprofit and federally subsidized program that provides hot meals and entertainment to the elderly.




Public Citizen

Feeding the Elderly

By Moryt Milo

For seniors seeking out an upbeat lunch hour, Live Oak Senior Nutrition Center is the place to be, according to Campbell resident Debbie Kranefuss. The 45-year-old Kranefuss is the director of the Los Gatos center, which runs the nonprofit and federally subsidized program that provides a hot meal and entertainment to the elderly.

The program has many in the community thinking it functions like a soup kitchen. "Not true," says Kranefuss, who serves lunch to 40 seniors daily in a restaurant-style atmosphere. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily, the program provides food and fun activities for seniors, which might be music, crossword puzzles, or a talk on nutrition.

"For homebound seniors, this program offers them a way to break out of their isolation," Kranefuss says.

Kranefuss has been the center's director for the past fours years. Originally from Massachusetts, her road to working with seniors began more than 20 years ago, as the director of the physical therapy department of a pediatric nursing home in Boston.

"I gravitated towards this work," says Kranefuss. "It was a good fit for my skills," which combined her desire to work with people and her interest in the body. When her husband, Ken, was relocated to Northern California, Kranefuss decided to return to school to receive her master's degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco.

She then worked for the now-defunct Visiting Nurses program, as the community liaison and traveled to various locations as a community educator. On numerous occasions, she visited the Los Gatos center and gave talks on safety for seniors. Kranefuss noticed, while working in home care, how a lack of nutrition played a significant role in a senior's ability to care for him or herself. "Once we would get the home team in there and they'd start eating, their mental status improved dramatically," she says.

Today, as director of the center, she sees the same results in her own program. But Kranefuss says, "Getting the word out [about the program] is difficult."

She points out that there are 38 county-sponsored programs in Santa Clara County, including one in Campbell, located in the Campbell Community Center. As community demographics change and older seniors move out of the area, Kranefuss and her staff of three at the center are looking to appeal to younger seniors between the ages of 60 and 75. This is one of the reasons why the center offers a choice of three entrees at each lunch in a very social setting.

"All economic walks of life [come through our doors], from those in need, to millionaires," Kranefuss says. "Yet people are accepting of anyone who walks in."

Some days the chatter and excitement is so loud at lunch that Kranefuss elects to forego her prepared nutritional talk. She sees everyone engaged and knows the program is in high gear. Along with good nutrition, this stimulating environment is one of the program's main goals.

"It's like having a dinner party for 40 people every day," says Kranefuss. "It's getting everything ready and hoping everyone will have a good time and want to come back."

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The Live Oak Senior Nutrition Center is located at 111 Church St., in Los Gatos. For more information, call 408.354.0707. Campbell residents should call the Campbell lunch program at 408.378.9130.

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