HADLEY — After another year of the COVID-19 pandemic, public safety officials are continuing to collaborate with the Hadley Senior Center to make sure town elders are getting fed.
In recognition of the work done by first responders to get food to at least 35 households each week, the Hadley Post Office Thursday afternoon honored the Police and Fire departments for their work with the Senior Center.
Hadley Postmaster Carol Caines said the essential workers helped get lives back to normal, presenting framed stamps to the town departments at a ceremony at the Hadley Senior Center.
“We’re here to honor the unsung heroes who have helped Hadley during the pandemic,” Caines said before about 50 people gathered in the dining room. Caines was joined by post office clerk Kati Curtis and Bryan Connaughton, the acting post office operations manager.
The food effort was initiated by Senior Center Director Hayley Wood, who needed to find a way to get meals to town elders while the Senior Center was closed.
Soon after the pandemic began in March 2020, Wood set up a system where seniors could place orders over the phone or online, including providing grocery lists.
Police brought Meals on Wheels and brown bag lunches and other shelf-stable food to homes, with three to four officers going on these routes.
“It was a nice service because some of the people did not have staples to eat,” Caines said.
Firefighters picked up the lists of groceries and bought fruit, vegetables, eggs, cheese, milk and other essentials for homebound, acting as a sort of Instacart.
“They went above and beyond to try to find those items, but they got them,” Caines said.
The plaques given by the post office include a “thank you” stamp issued in August 2020, that will adorn a wall of the Senior Center, while the plaque with the first responders stamp, issued in September 2018, will hang at the both the police and fire stations.
