Warren County, New Jersey – Lunch options offered to seniors as part of the closing ceremony of the Belvidere Senior Nutrition Center.
In late September, the Warren County opted to shut down the Belvidere Senior Nutrition Center, while longtime visitors started to worry that the very tight-knit group will fall into fragments due to the closure.
It has been almost two decades that 20 seniors or so have been socializing together and eating together, like a close-knit family. Belvidere’s town council president Laurel Napolitani said the thought of moving to other senior locations like Washington or Knowlton townships still didn’t want to sink in among the seniors. The Belvidere nutrition center has become the longtime visitors’ urgent care near me facility.
Napolitani emphasized that the seniors had a really good time in the center, forming a very tight group, thus, the changes would be very hard for them to accept. Napolitani, also the ad hoc committee chairwoman was tasked with figuring out an alternative solution after the closure.
The solution and urgent care towards the issue was to offer the seniors at least two days in a week, to socialize and obtain nutrition. The lunch options offered to seniors come with a small fee. Thus, they don’t need to look or go out of town for these services.
After hours of brainstorming and discussions, the committee decided on a start-up group, comprised of volunteers and seniors, who will host the first lunch at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Wednesday. This will be the initial step for the hopes of creating the Belvidere Area Senior Center.
The lunch options offered to seniors will be scheduled from 10 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon, every Mondays and Wednesdays. It will continue at the 408 Third St. church, along with coffee, soup, games, and other activities. Napolitani pointed out that it was the best approach her committee could do, filling in the gap left by the nutrition center’s closure.
The formation of the senior citizen center will likewise serve as an urgent care clinic, and will be based mainly on fellowship, a nice meal, and good time, Napolitani said.
Funding cuts at the state and federal levels were the main reason for the center’s closure, including other urgent care clinics Hackettstown, Knowlton, and Washington townships. The core groups of such centers looked for help and approached the Belvidere council, however, the same system wasn’t feasible in their own townships due to money and personnel constraints. The two-day-in-a-week lunch options offered to seniors was staffed by volunteers, serving homemade meals, although lunch was not the only purpose of the fellowship.
