Amherst Survival Center Senior Mobile Pantry

A box of food from the Amherst Survival Center is available on the third Wednesday of the month from 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. To learn eligibility guidelines and to apply, call Helen MacMellon at 413-259-3062 or Michele Chmura at 413-259-3038.

Brown Bag Program

A shopping bag of food from the Western Mass Food Bank is available on the first Thursday of the month from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Suggested donation is $3 per bag. To learn eligibility guidelines and to apply, call Helen MacMellon at 413-259-3062 or Michele Chmura at 413-259-3038. In case of disability, a family member or friend can pick up the bag.

Grocery Shopping Transportation

If you can shop for yourself but don’t drive, you can arrange shopping trips by calling PVTA Paratransit at 1-866-277-7741 at least one day ahead. The Amity St. Shuttle (PVTA Route #37) also goes to Big Y and Stop & Shop grocery stores hourly every weekday.

Meals on Wheels

There are two Meals on Wheels programs available for people who cannot prepare their own meals. Hot meals cooked at UMass dining commons are delivered to your home late afternoon Monday through Friday by volunteers. This package includes a hot dinner and a cold lunch for the next day with fruit, dessert, and two half pints of milk. Cost is $6 per day. Call Helen MacMellon at 413-259-3062 or Michele Chmura at 413-259-3038 to learn if you are eligible for this service or to volunteer as a driver.

Highland Valley Elder Services (HVES) provides hot lunches at 12 p.m. from our lunch site, delivered to homes by volunteers. This meal includes milk and dessert. Cold evening meals are also available with approval of HVES case managers. Suggested donation per meal is $3. Call Kathy Nelson at 413-259-3164 or call HVES at 413-586-2000 to sign up for this service or to volunteer as a driver.

Senior Lunch

The Amherst Senior Center and Highland Valley Elder Services invite all Amherst residents age 60 and up to lunch each weekday. Their guests of any age may accompany them.

Meals are served at 11:45 a.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays) in the Large Activity Room on the ground floor of Bangs Community Center. Enter the west entrance lobby and turn right. Please call 413-259-3164 before 11 a.m. the previous day to reserve your meal. Suggested donation is $3 per meal for participants; guests pay $4.25 for a meal valued at $6.25. Participants place their donation in an envelope provided at the tables, using the honor system. This is a wonderful low-stress, low-cost social occasion. Come get acquainted with other seniors, join conversations, or just be among friendly people for an enjoyable, nutritious meal.

Volunteers provide the spirit of our services. If you wish to get involved, please call Kathy Nelson at 413-259-3164.

Wednesday Bread and Produce Program

Early each Wednesday morning, day old bread, baked goods, fresh organic produce and deli foods are donated to the Amherst Senior Center by Big Y, Henion Bakery, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, and Atkins Farms. Senior Center volunteers pick up the donated foods from the various locations and deliver them to the Senior Center where additional volunteers, (local college students and elders), unload the food and package it for easier pick-up.

Then, beginning around 9:30 a.m. small groups of seniors go through to choose bread, baked goods and produce for their household. Weekly, this program provides 50 to 60 elders with the opportunity to supplement their food budgets with quality food at no cost.

If you are an Amherst senior and would like to participate, please come on a Wednesday morning to the Large Activity Room in the Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk at 9 am for the start of this program. Should you have any questions or if you would like more information, please call Helen MacMellon, Social Worker at 413-259-3062 or contact her by email.