Dinner's On Us: Gardner CAC offers meal kit service to area families - what to know

Emilia Cardona, Gardner News
·2 min read

GARDNER ― Those meal kit services sound so convenient, and they are. But they're also expensive. Recognizing the need for convenient healthy meals, the Gardner Community Action Committee has established a free ready-to-cook meal service called Dinner's On Us.

The service provides moderate to low-income households of two or larger with a fresh prepped meal and either a slow cooker or baking sheet needed to cook it. In addition to the ready-to-cook meal, the CAC also provides a frozen second meal for another day. Each household receives one box a week for a month.

So far, the program has helped 90 families across the Greater Gardner community since it started nine months ago. Executive director Julie Meehan said right now they can make only meals for 10 families each month. Ten new families are picked every month to receive a weekly Dinner On Us box.

Program Coordinators Amy LeBlanc and Amy Maguy have provided 90 different families with a fresh ready-to-cook meal and each week it's a different recipe.
Program Coordinators Amy LeBlanc and Amy Maguy have provided 90 different families with a fresh ready-to-cook meal and each week it's a different recipe.

Meehan said the CAC staff regularly hear about families struggling with the increasing cost of food, affordable transportation to get to supermarkets, and of course accessibility issues for families with disabilities.

Quick and easy to prepare

"We've been talking for a while on what we can do to help solve all the issues in one and just help families with the day-to-day stuff to reduce stress," she said. "The pre-made meal boxes don't need a lot of skill to do so people with disabilities can do them and it doesn't take a lot of time."

All of the food and equipment purchased for the Dinner's On Us program are covered by a $35,000 United Way grant. Each new family gets a brand-new slow cooker and baking sheet along with a weekly meal for a month. Each slow-cooker cost $38 and the baking sheet is $12.

The CAC staff cuts, measures, and packs each box with all of the ingredients needed for the recipe they picked that week. The families on the program can pick up their ready-to-cook meal box at 294 Pleasant St or it can be delivered to their home.

"If you're juggling the kids, work, and everything, the last thing that you have energy and time for is to make a healthy meal," she said. " We honestly just wanted to make an impact on families in our community experiencing difficulties."

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Dinner's On Us: Gardner Community Action Council offers meal kit service