Saco Parks and Recreation will be offering a drive-thru meal for residents 50 and older on Veterans Day and on Nov. 19, similar to this distribution back in the spring. Here, Wellness and Program Coordinator Amelia Meier hands a meal to a recipient in the rain at the Saco Community Center on April 3. Andrew Dickinson Photo/City of Saco
SACO — A meals program offered by the Saco Parks and Recreation Department, with the sponsorship of local businesses and organizations, and prepared by local restaurants, is making a return.
Meals will be offered to members of the department’s seniority program and to Saco residents aged 50 and older on Veterans Day. A Thanksgiving Day meal will also be offered on Nov. 19 this year, and the department is looking at other potential dates as well.
Saco Parks and Recreation offered meals on Fridays this spring and summer during the coronavirus pandemic. They were distributed via drive-thru at the Saco Community Center on Franklin Street.
Now, the department is hoping to bring back an occasional version of the meal distribution program, with the goal of offering special meals, potentially on a monthly basis, depending on sponsorships — the Golden Rooster will be providing meals for Veterans Day and for the Thanksgiving meal. Saco Valley Credit Union is sponsoring the Veterans Day meal, and the Nov. 19 Thanksgiving meal replaces the Saco Parks and Recreation Department’s annual holiday luncheon.
Those aged 50 and older who wish to have a meal on those days must sign up for it.
For the Veteran’s Day meal Wednesday, Nov. 11, meal signups were to be available starting Nov. 4. If there are still slots available, reservations will be taken through the morning of Nov. 11, said Saco Communications Director Emily Roy. She pointed out that the limit of reservations is usually reached within a few days, but residents can try on the day, prior to the commencement of curbside pickup, which begins at 11 a.m. and continues until 12:30 p.m.
The same reservation provisions are in place for the Thanksgiving meal, to be served Thursday, Nov. 19, Signups will be available Nov. 12 to 19.
People should call 283-3139, ext. 809, or email: ameier@sacomaine.org. If callers reach a voice answering system, they are asked to leave a message with the names of those in the household who would like a meal and who will be picking it up, organizers say. If delivery assistance is needed, leave that information, along with an address.
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