LEYDEN — To help curb concerns over food access during the lasting public health emergency, the Council of Aging is providing free lunches to seniors each Friday through the end of June.
Police Chief Dan Galvis and his wife, Council on Aging member Gilda Galvis, will help assemble and provide the first round of lunches using a curbside pick-up model this Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Town Hall.
Having noticed there was extra money in the Council on Aging’s budget, Selectboard Chair Jeffrey Neipp and others suggested the town consider creating the lunch service, which will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Dan Galvis said they’ll assess the demand for lunches and, moving forward, increase the number of meals available.
“We’ll be starting out with 50 meals this coming Friday,” he said.
Gilda Galvis described this week’s lunch as a classic bag lunch, including a sandwich with chips or a salad. To provide economic support to local businesses and restaurants, Dan Galvis said the food will be purchased from different locations each week. This may include Foster’s Supermarket, Big Y or even Village Pizza.
Council on Aging members are conducting outreach calls to create a list of seniors who may want a meal, but are unable to make it to Town Hall on Friday. Any senior resident who is unable to make it, or who needs help picking up prescriptions or groceries, can call Linda Allis at 413-624-5582. Officers with the Leyden Police Department and other volunteers will help with no-contact delivery.
“We’ll knock and leave it on their doorstep,” Dan Galvis explained.