Tim Getty Honored by National Council on Aging

Meals are served at the grand opening of Encore Café’s Marion Public Library location.

Tim Getty, Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator at Heritage Area Agency on Aging, has been named a 2020 Trailblazer in Aging by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the Council announced today.

Getty was honored with the Innovator Award for his one-of-a-kind take on congregate dining, Encore Café. It offers a salad bar, choice menu, table service, evidence-based health programs and produce boxes supplied by local food banks.

“I am beyond honored to receive this prestigious award and am beyond grateful for the continued support of our local team, volunteers, and participants of this initiative,” Getty said.

The program was launched in response to declining participation at congregate programs over the course of a half-decade – down to 35 participants Linn County. Within two years of opening its Cedar Rapids and Marion locations, Encore Café served more than 1,200 unique participants and nearly 17,500 meals. Though meals are free of charge to adults ages 60+, average voluntary contribution rates also soared 133 percent, which improves the program’s long-term sustainability.

“We are incredibly proud to recognize these outstanding local leaders who are working in communitieis every day to ensure that our older loved ones are healthy and safe,” said NCOA Interim President & CEO Jim Knickman. “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, these trailblazers were providing critical services like meals, benefits counseling and transportation to enable older adults to stay independent. Today, their work is even more life-saving.”

This is not the first time Getty’s work on Encore Café garnered national attention: last August, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging recognized Encore with a 2019 Aging Innovations Award. 

Getty joins three other individuals and one organization as 2020 honorees. They will be recognized at the NCOA 2020 Age+Action Virtual Conference this week.