Carleton-Willard to offer senior lunches

October 02, 2008

Bedford Minuteman

Carleton-Willard affiliates with Boston University
By Chris Klingenberg/Staff Writer
Thurs October 2, 2008

Bedford, Mass. – A new partnership between Carleton-Willard Village and Minuteman Senior Services, which runs the lunch program for Bedford seniors at the Council on Aging, was recently established.

Carleton-Willard will be selecting the menu and preparing the food for lunches on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the COA.

“It is wonderful that Carleton-Willard is partnering with us,” said Minuteman Senior Services Director Margie Scott. “The people of Bedford have been really looking forward to this day.”

Minuteman Senior Services runs lunch programs in Bedford and 12 other towns in the area. Given the size of the program, in the past it was necessary to work with an industrial food service, which prepared and packages the meals centrally. It was hard for the COA to provide tasty meals cost-effectively and on a large scale.

“The Carleton-Willard chef is a big improvement,” said Bedford resident Marion Norton. “Usually not very many people attend (the lunch program), but probably a lot more will come now that the food is so wonderful.”

According to Matt Hinkle, director of dining services for Carleton-Willard, the lunches are the same sort of meal a resident at Carleton-Willard might order in the Abbott Dining Room.

“More nutritional thought goes into selecting the menu for the Bedford Café,” said Hinkle. “At Carleton-Willard we have three meals each day to make sure that residents get all their nutritional requirements. Here we have only one meal to work with.”

The first lunch offered by Hinkle began with chilled harvest fruit soup with strawberries, peaches and bananas. The entrée was baked cod with a bacon/cheddar/chive crust, Lyonnais potatoes and ratatouille. Dessert was mocha cake.

Seniors wishing to attend a lunch should sign up at least two days in advance, by calling 7810275-8542. The lunches are served at 11:45 a.m. and a $3 donation is requested.