Belchertown Senior Center to Add Four Specialized Frozen Meal Options Starting October

BELCHERTOWN — May 27, 2026 — Belchertown Council on Aging prepares for four new specialized frozen meal options required by October 1 grant mandate. The council heard from its director, identified as Jess, that Access Care Partners — the regional nutrition intermediary overseeing the center's Title III grant — will require the center to offer cardiac/low-sodium, renal, carb-controlled, and low-lactose home-delivered meals beginning with the new grant year. The meals will arrive frozen from the center's existing caterer and be ordered monthly for enrolled clients. April activity figures included 2,400 home-delivered meals, 586 congregate meals, 171 transportation rides, and a March daily attendance count of 5,003 visits by 668 individuals. The council also agreed by consensus to send a formal letter of recognition to a young thrift shop volunteer named Charlotte, who independently redirected 34 large bags of donated textiles over three months to eight local organizations including the Belchertown Animal Relief Committee and Dress for Success — work that had gone unannounced until a council liaison attended an Activities Committee meeting.