FARMINGTON — SeniorsPlus is seeking another way to provide meals in Farmington after recently closing the Thursday meal site at Old South First Congregational Church.

Volunteers helped run the local meal site and they now have other things to do and there are no others to take their place, Constance Jones, director of community services for SeniorsPlus said.

SeniorsPlus is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Lewiston and serving seniors in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties.

“There’s not the volunteer support that there was at the beginning. We can’t do without the volunteer support,” she said. “We’re still looking for an alternate way to provide a meal in that community.”

The Farmington change comes after the meal site at the lodge hall in Wilton closed a few months ago because there was only one person who attended, she said.

Meals were served on Thursdays at noon at the Farmington church and there was still a good group of people attending, she said.

There is a meal site at the Rangeley Townhouse Apartments, which is open five days a week, Jones said.

Meals on Wheels continues to serve residents around the county. SeniorsPlus also has the Round Town Program, where people can get vouchers for meals at local designated restaurants. They can go whenever they want for meals with similar nutritional values to those served at the sites.

Vouchers are available for LaFleurs in Jay and Chuck Wagon in Livermore Falls. Each restaurant has about six options available to choose from for a recommended donation of $5, she said. There are also restaurant sites in Lewiston, Turner and South Paris.

People can call SeniorsPlus for a voucher, make a donation by credit card and then use them when they want, she said. If SeniorsPlus can’t find another dining site in Farmington, this could be an alternative, she said. 

Seniors Plus is considering offering a meal once a month in addition to Old South Church’s free community luncheon, Jones said.

Meals on Wheels has no waiting list at the moment, she said. The program is for people who cannot get out to do their shopping or who are unable to cook and have no one to do it for them. Some people may have the mental capacity to cook but are unable to stand for long and are at risk of falling while doing it, she said. One client had a son who came in once a day and made a sandwich for the client but that’s not enough nutrition, she said.

Once people call SeniorsPlus at 1-800-427-1241 and say they need Meals on Wheels, a home assessment is done to see if they are eligible, she said. Income is not a part of the assessment.

The meals are delivered five days a week depending on where a person lives, she said. Frozen meals are left for the days they don’t deliver.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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