Co-op Moves To Serve Seniors

The White River Food Co-op wants senior citizens to feel they have a friend in the co-op. This week it kicked off special programs to prove it.

The co-op, which recently moved into bigger quarters at the old Merrimaids building, wants to prove it’s a community service, not just a store, said Francis X. "Rich" Finigan of the co-op.

"We’re the downtown grocery with a difference," he said.

Tuesday will be a special day at the co-op.

Every Tuesday, elderly and disabled residents will be offered free coffee and muffins at the co-op café. On Tuesdays also, co-op staff will shop for elderly people and deliver their groceries the next day.

Lulu Potter of Bethel has been appointed to work with the elderly to help with shopping and meal planning. She held a meeting with about 25 residents of the nearby Randolph House last week, asking what the residents would like to see for services.

Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, the first concern was with competitive prices, and the co-op is preparing a price-comparison list on some of the items that would be popular with seniors.

The residents also asked for help in planning meals for one person and the opportunity to buy small portions of cheese, bread, and other products.

This should be easy for the co-op to do, since it buys foods in bulk and can break them down to very small portions, Finigan noted.

Potter is an LPN with 30 years of caring for elderly and disabled persons. She is experienced in talking to elders about cooking and nutrition.

The co-op program has also enlisted the assistance of an Americorps volunteer who lives and works in Randolph, McKenna Pierson.

Pierson has close connections with the Senior Center, Joslyn House and other facilities serving elders. She said this week she wants to learn more about the co-op’s ideas and how she can help seniors to benefit from the programs.

Finigan said the co-op will distribute a questionnaire to elderly and disabled citizens asking what products they would like the store to carry. Based on the response, he said, the co-op will make popular items part of their regular inventory.