Meals for ME for anyone 60 or older

Be prepared. I am about to make you hungry. How does chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes, green beans and dinner roll sound? How about roast pork with gravy, red potatoes, peas and lemon meringue pie? Then there are the Maine standards of boiled dinners and macaroni and cheese.

So just where can you get these mouth-watering meals, especially if you don’t like to eat alone? Meals for ME, Eastern Agency on Aging’s nutrition program, is the answer.

There are two components to Meals for ME, so anyone who is age 60 or older is eligible for the program.

First, the community dining rooms. There are about 50 of these gems scattered throughout eastern Maine. From one to five days a week, depending on the site, friends and neighbors come together for a delicious meal, a little companionship and a lot of laughter.

Think about this the next time you are making a simple sandwich for lunch. Perhaps a sandwich that will be eaten alone, in front of the television.

At a Meals for ME dining room, you might be served baked ham with mashed sweet potato and strawberry shortcake while seated next to a sparkling conversationalist. And someone else cleans up after the meal, so there are no dishes to wash. All you are required to do is have fun.

Then there is the home delivery side of the program, which serves seniors who are basically homebound, cannot cook for themselves and have no one to cook for them. Typically these people would have toast or even cookies for lunch, but with Meals for ME they get a nutritious meal and a visit from the friendly volunteer who delivers the meal.

“Human contact, however brief, is so important and often we don’t understand what it’s like to be home alone all the time,” said Gail Ward, director of nutrition.

“It is frustrating sometimes, because people who may want or need the program don’t use it because they think it is for low-income only,” said Ward. “This is simply not true. Anyone, 60 plus, regardless of income or assets, can participate in the Meals for ME program in one form or another, be it the dining rooms or home delivery. In fact, we encourage it.

“And actually, anyone under the age of 60 can dine at a dining room as well, but must pay $6 for the meal. We ask all other diners for a $3 donation,” Ward said. “Meals for ME is really about seniors getting together and having a good meal like spaghetti and meatballs and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.”

Ward said she has no idea where the notion of “low-income only” came from, but is determined to dispel the myth.

“The dining rooms are so much fun for everyone and we’d love to see more people there, and anyone who qualifies for home delivery should be getting it,” she said. “Income is not a factor at all, and remember we are always looking for more volunteers. They’re the ones who actually keep the program running.”

For a complete menu to scour in search of your favorite dishes, or for a location list of your nearest dining room, log on www.eaaa.org or call us at 941-2865 and we will send them to you. Also, if you’d like to be put on EAA’s mailing list, you will receive the menu automatically.

Meals for ME also has gift certificate booklets of five meals each for $15. It is the best deal in town, and a great way to treat a friend to lunch.

Bon appetit.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information about EAA, call 941-2865, or toll-free (800) 432-7812, e-mail info@eaaa.org, or visit www.eaaa.org. TTY 992-0150.