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Special delivery: meals for seniors from Coquitlam’s Dogwood, Glen Pine pavilions

To reduce the need for seniors to leave their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Coquitlam launches a twice-weekly meal delivery service
Seniors food
The city of Coquitlam is delivering food to seniors. The frozen meals cost $7.50 and are delivered for free.

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Irish stew and spaghetti bolognese are on the menu for Coquitlam seniors after the city announced Monday it is launching its own food delivery service for residents 50 years and over.

The frozen meals cost $7.50 each and are prepared by staff at the Dogwood and Glen Pine pavilions, recreation facilities for those 55 and older. They are delivered for free on Tuesdays and Fridays.

“The meals are intended to help seniors stay healthy and reduce their need to go out,” the city said in a press release. 

Kathleen Vincent, Coquitlam’s manager of corporate communications, told The Tri-City News Tuesday the food services are an extension of the hot lunch the city already offers at Glen Pine and Dogwood. She said the meals are prepared by city staff who are Food Safe certified in kitchens large enough to ensure two-metre physical distance between cooks. 

Rigorous hygiene measures are in place from preparation all the way to delivery, Vincent added. 

“Residents are advised to expect their delivery within a specific two-hour window, and when our staff arrives, they knock and step away to ensure they are adhering to the two-metre distance,” she said. “All payments are made in advance by credit card and there is no money or paperwork exchanged at the door.”

The menu will change each week and will be posted on the city’s Facebook page and on its website (www.coquitlam.ca/meals). 

For more information or to order, call 604-927-6940 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Monday for Tuesday deliveries or from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday for Friday deliveries. 

 

PHONE BUDDIES

Food deliveries are not the only way the city is reaching out to people 55 and over.

A new phone buddy program is being launched, with staff already reaching out to the 2,500 seniors who are registered for programs at Dogwood and Glen Pine pavilions. The calls are conducted to “check on their wellbeing and refer them to resources,” according to a city press release. 

Anyone interested in volunteering for the phone buddy service can go to www.coquitlam.ca/volunteers or email volunteer@coquitlam.ca. To add a Coquitlam senior to the phone buddy list, call Dogwood at 604-927-6098 or Glen Pine at 604-927-6940. 

• For up-to-date information related to how the city of Coquitlam is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, go to www.coquitlam.ca/covid19, email covid19@coquitlam.ca or call 604-927-4383.

Read more of our COVID-19 coverage here.