DONATION FOR MEALS TO GO UP : PROGRAM FOR SENIORS COSTS MORE TO OPERATE.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

Faced with increasing costs, the suggested donation for hot lunches delivered to senior citizens in the city via Meals on Wheels will rise from $3.25 to $3.50 beginning July 1.

Organizers stressed, however, that no participant will be denied food if they cannot afford to pay the suggested donation. Participants are asked to pay what they can afford.

``You're always reluctant to increase the cost for people, but we had no choice,'' said Betty Lipman, a member of the Simi Valley Council on Aging, which runs the program locally.

``The cost has increased, and so we're passing it on to those people who can afford to pay for it,'' Lipman said. ``That would still mean the majority of people are subsidized.''

Volunteer drivers deliver hot lunches to 49 disabled or homebound seniors in Simi Valley, many of whom live on fixed incomes, said Kathryn B. Oliver, the city's senior services coordinator.

Of the 49 program participants, 19 pay the suggested donation of $3.25, while 30 pay what they can afford, ranging from 50 cents to $2.50 per meal, she said.

Violet Henry, a program administrator who heads the Ventura County Public Social Services Agency's Senior Nutrition Program, said the countywide Meals on Wheels program will cost $666,677 next fiscal year, up from $659,048. At the same time, federal aid will decrease by 5 percent, and donations from participants amount to about $127,000 - or about 19 percent of the total bill.

Also, rising food and personnel costs have made it impossible to continue the program without additional revenue, she said.