Kathy Kubit receives her lunch from the Franklin Senior Center, traveling by GATRA. Bus driver Mike Quartaroni looks on.

Thanks to grants from the Metrowest Health Foundation ($5,000) and the Franklin Council on Aging ($15,000), the Franklin Senior Center is currently offering freshly prepared meals for pickup for area residents aged 60+ or who have disabilities for just $2 (additional donations are welcome). Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Folks can register by calling (508) 613-1313 or visit http://www.franklinma.gov/curb. After registering, participants can order meals for the week by calling or filling out the form at 

http://www.franklinma.gov/curb with their meal choices for the week. No cash exchanges hands, as participants are invoiced for payment. (Those who cannot pay are encouraged to reach out to the Franklin Senior Center’s Social Service Coordinator.)

“It’s been going really well,” says Franklin Senior Center Director Karen Alves. “We have a lot of repeat customers and a lot of new customers every day for the most part. Generally, we see about 30 or more folks a day. We’re hoping to get up to about 50 a day.” 

Meals are picked up at the side entrance of the Franklin Senior Center at 10 Daniel McCahill Street, using the rear access road, and signs are posted at the entrance. Participants are asked to wear masks and keep social distance. Alves explains that some participants drive in, but some take the GATRA Dial-A-Ride transportation, which they can arrange by calling (800) 698-7676 by noon on the day prior to pick up. Others have friends or relatives who pick up their meals.

“We have folks who pick up for other people. That’s fine, but we just need them to register, so we know how many we’re serving,” says Alves.

The program is funded to run through October, she says.

“We’ll continue to do it through the summer, then reassess in the fall,” says Alves. She adds that some people pick up a few meals at a time, but “if they’re picking up meals for the week, I wouldn’t want to give someone five meals and have that sit in their fridge until Friday.”

As of press time (mid-June), the Franklin Senior Center was experimenting with menu options. Choices included a salad, three sandwich options and a special.

“We’re kind of playing with the menu and seeing how we can expand it throught the summer and the fall. We’ll probably be changing it up.”

Alves is pleased with initial response to the program. “The people we’re serving are so appreciative. I think they’re enjoying just the ease of it and the price.”