Bagel Deli Providing Coffee at Senior Center Twice a Week

Canton Senior & Social Services is happy to announce that local business “The Bagel Deli” is providing coffee, creamer, cups and sugar/substitutes to the Canton Senior Center every Wednesday and Friday that the Center is open.  Two days a week, Canton Senior Center proudly provides lunches for older adults through Community Renewal Team out of Hartford. 

The Congregate Meals program is federally funded through Older Americans Act fund dollars and was originally created to ensure that older adults, who are fixed incomes, are able to eat atleast one hot meal a day at their local Senior or Community Center.  Because it is federally funded, if a participant is able to do so they are asked to donate only $2, all of which goes back into the program for supplies, special food, etc. 

With the allocation of these monies to other necessary programs in Connecticut, agencies like CRT that prepare the food and hire Café Managers at each site had to make the difficult decision between cutting days of service or closing sites.  Instead of shutting down operations within individual communities or cutting back the number of days that meals were to be served, CRT sent a letter around to towns indicating that effective February 15, 2012 CRT’s Elderly Nutrition Program will no longer be able to provide coffee, tea, and supplies to meal sites. 

Canton’s Community Café has grown into a very social program, giving older adults a space to come together to share a meal, memories, conversation and to catch up with one another and stay engaged in their community. The value of having a cup of coffee and chatting with friends is more significant in the lives of our Members and it took but one investigatory email to the Canton Chamber of Commerce, who would understand the significance of “water cooler talk” (or coffee, in this case), for owner Keith Coffin to stop in the office and offer sponsorship. 

The Bagel Deli is conveniently located in Canton Village on Rte 44, right next to the Walgreens Pharmacy.  The business provides great bagels, sandwiches, deli dishes and is available for catering for all occasions as well.  The Bagel Deli is locally owned and operated and is supportive of the community that supports it. Canton Senior & Social Services strives to provide programs and events that increase well-being of all Canton residents, while working with them to increase self-sustainability, self esteem and their ability to be active members of their community here in Canton.