Essex County Opens Fourth Senior Meal Center

A fourth senior citizen congregate meal center was opened last week in Essex County.

Cafe in Essex County Weequahic Park opened on Thursday and will be open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering seniors healthy meals for just a $3 donation.

“We’d like to thank Essex County for bringing this program to Weequahic Park to serve the residents of Newark’s South Ward,” Newark South Ward Councilman John James said. “This initiative provides nutritious meals to our older residents and the park setting promotes exercise and physical activity.” James was joined by fellow Newark Councilmember Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins.

Essex County first opened a senior citizen congregate meal center in August 2011 at the Senior Building in the Northern Division of Branch Brook Park. The Senior Building in Independence Park was the second location opened in November 2011 followed by a site in Watsessing Park in February 2013.

“Our Division of Senior Services and Parks Department both provide vital services for senior citizens,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said. “Their partnership here represents how Essex County is maximizing resources to benefit residents.”

The Essex County Division of Senior Services offers a range of services to eligible Essex County senior citizens. The Division provides congregate and home-delivered meals, offers adult protective services, provides basic transportation services, administers contracts with adult day care centers, offers counseling services for caregivers, contracts with several municipalities to provide visiting nurse services and provides dental, legal, care management and outreach services.

The Division also sponsors the popular Essex County Legacies Writing Contest which asks seniors to share stories from their lives and the Essex County Older American Month Celebration which recognizes “legends” for their contributions to the community.

“Our congregate meal program does more than just provide nutritious food to seniors. We want to get them involved in exercise programs, learn about healthy lifestyles and stay active in their community,” Essex County Senior Services Director Jaklyn DeVore said. “There is a lot of potential here to expand our program so we can attend to the complete wellness of our seniors. I thank the County Executive and Parks Department for helping to make this dream come true.”

DeVore noted that hosting the congregate meal program in a park and being in a county-owned building gives her flexibility to expand the program beyond just providing nutritious meals. There are plans to offer exercise programs and social activities in the park, cooking demonstrations, health and wellness programs and diabetes prevention. She also will try out new ideas, such as altering the hours of the program to offer breakfast or dinner programs if seniors are interested.

“Bringing our congregate meal program into our Parks System is a great concept to keep our seniors active and healthy,” Essex County Citizen Services Director Anibal Ramos said. “We thank the County Executive for his continued investment into programs that benefit our seniors.”

The Essex County Division of Senior Services is located at 900 Bloomfield Ave. in Verona. For more information, please call 973-395-8375.