Cornwall launches take-home meal program for seniors

Cornwall launches take-home meal program for seniors

Recipients pick up prepared dinners at the first installment of Cornwall’s new senior meal program.

Riley Klein

CORNWALL — Homemade Meals 2 Go began providing frozen dinner to seniors living in Cornwall this month.

The new program, under the leadership of Selectman Jennifer Markow and Park and Recreation Chair Michelle Shipp, allows senior citizens to order three entrees and six side dishes from a menu of options.

Park and Rec has hosted senior luncheons and breakfasts for more than five years prior to launching the take-home program. Markow and Shipp said they noticed how appreciative the recipients were for getting “real, homemade meals” and decided to expand the dining options to include grab-and-go freezable dinners.

Shipp and Markow do all the shopping for local ingredients and then cook the meals at the Parish House. Both are licensed through Torrington Area Health for the meal program.

The first round of distribution took place at the United Church of Christ’s Parish House Sunday, Nov. 3. In total, 31 seniors came to pick up dinners.

Resident Pat Thibault found the program “exciting” and was looking forward to eating the food. “They are good cooks so I know the food is going to be delicious.”

“It’s wonderful,” said resident Lynn La Porta. “Just knowing those meals are there during bad weather, you know we’re out in the country... and this makes a huge difference.”

The November menu included pulled pork, meat lasagna and vegetable lasagna as the main courses. Side options were mac ‘n cheese, roasted veggies, seasoned corn and green beans.

Homemade Meals 2 Go provides the dinners free of charge to senior Cornwall Food Pantry clients. For all other Cornwall seniors, the cost is $15 per order.

A grant from the Cornwall Foundation and sponsorship from the Cornwall Association helped bring the effort together.

The program will return in December with a new menu. Visit www.cornwallassociation.org/homemade-meals-2-go for more info.

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete. It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taking on Tanglewood

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

Provided

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for symphonic music this summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Here are a few highlights from the classical programming.

Saturday, July 5: Shed Opening Night at 8 p.m. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Daniil Trifonov plays piano in an All-Rachmaninoff program. The Piano Concerto No. 3 was completed in 1909 and was written specifically to be debuted in the composer’s American tour, at another time of unrest and upheaval in Russia. Trifonev is well-equipped to take on what is considered among the most technically difficult piano pieces. This program also includes Symphonic Dances, a work encapsulating many ideas and much nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.

Keep ReadingShow less