Home » News » Waupaca News » Senior center kitchen to expand

Senior center kitchen to expand

Waupaca project funded by staff, volunteers

By Angie Landsverk


The upcoming expansion of the Waupaca Senior Center’s kitchen is being completely funded from money raised by the center’s staff, members and volunteers.

When the common council met on Feb. 4, it approved spending up to $18,000 from the Senior Center Donation Fund on the project.

The vote followed the Senior Center Advisory Board’s approval of it last month.

There is currently almost $20,000 in the fund.

No taxpayer dollars are being used for the project, Sara Reybrock told the Waupaca County Post.

She is the senior center coordinator.

Expansion of the kitchen has been discussed for at least the last five years.

“Now we have the opportunity to do it,” Reybrock said.

The senior center is located in the lower level of the Waupaca Recreation Center.
Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Whitman said the kitchen is small, with room for one to two people to be in there at a time.

Next door to it is a small office that was once the center’s main office.

A few years ago, the main office was built near the center’s main entrance to better serve the seniors.

The wall between the kitchen and that office will be torn down to open up the kitchen space, Reybrock said.

The counter area will expand, making it more user friendly, she said.

The larger space will allow for the expansion of programs.

Reybrock said the kitchen will also be used for special events and fundraisers.

In addition, there is talk of making the space available for rentals in the future as a revenue source for the city.

When the kitchen is remodeled, a coffee bar will be created as well, she said.

After the remodeling, the toenail clinic will move to a different space, Reybrock said.

“The purpose of this project is to better serve our continuing growing senior population and their needs. It will open up possibilities for new programs and events, as well as make current events more efficient,” Whitman wrote in a memo to the mayor and council.

He said, “It will provide the seniors a place of their own to socialize and connect, which has been shown to be very important to their overall health.”

Reybrock said funds for the project were raised in a variety of ways, including through a rummage sale, auction, brat frys and book and bake sale.

Kathy Kasza, the city’s finance director and treasurer, said the council had to approve using donation funds for the project.

“They built up enough in the fund to be able to do this,” she said.

Scroll to Top