BERKS COUNTY, Pa. \u2014 For some seniors, it’s the knock on the door they count on every day.<\/p>\n
“Every day, we deliver Meals on Wheels to about 650 seniors in Berks County,” said Katie Catchmark, deputy director of the Berks Area Agency on Aging.<\/p>\n
Catchmark helps oversee the program for the Berks Area Agency on Aging. Starting July 1, she says those deliveries will look a little different.<\/p>\n
“Starting July 1st, we are transitioning from delivering a ready-to-eat meal five days a week to delivering flash frozen meals two days a week to seniors,” Catchmark said.<\/p>\n
The goal, she says, is to give seniors more flexibility.<\/p>\n
“We’re also able to have meals that are flash frozen at the peak freshness, so we think we’re going to provide a really good quality meal,” she said.<\/p>\n
All of the meals will be prepared at Helping Harvest’s Community Kitchen in Reading.<\/p>\n
“Helping Harvest has a really wonderful kitchen and two wonderful chefs who are working very hard on preparing great menus,” Catchmark said.<\/p>\n
The change also comes as programs like this continue to face challenges finding volunteers.<\/p>\n
“With this change, we’ll be delivering fewer days a week, but we can utilize volunteers to help still reach out to seniors and provide daily wellness calls,” she said.<\/p>\n