Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows organization now delivering groceries for seniors

Seniors who depend on the Thrifty’s Sendial service can now get their groceries through Community Services.

With the forthcoming closure of the grocery store at the end of the month, the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Community Services’ Better at Home Program has stepped up to fill in the gaps of the grocery delivery program.

Every week, as part of the Thrifty Foods’ Sendial service, a volunteer would make a call to each senior and take their grocery order. The orders would be filed into the store’s computer system and the next set of volunteers would do the shopping. Then Thrifty’s would deliver the groceries.

The last day of deliveries took place on Wednesday, April 28.

Thrifty’s in Haney Place Mall is set to close for good at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 29. The media department from Sobeys, the parent company for Thrifty Foods, made the announcement of the store’s permanent closure on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Ten seniors were supported with their groceries through the Sendial program, said Joanne Leginus, with Community Services.

READ MORE: Thrifty Foods in Maple Ridge to close

“When they heard about Thrifty’s closure, they were very stressed and worried that they would no longer receive their weekly groceries,” she said.

Adding, these seniors have already been under a great deal of stress, in addition to being isolated due to the pandemic.

“The thought of not getting their weekly groceries delivered elevated their stress,” she said.

Staff at Community Services has already contacted the seniors and registered them for their weekly grocery needs.

They had to help each senior get an account set up with another local grocery store, which involved creating an email address for them and registering them online for this service.

READ MORE: SmartCentres looking to replace Maple Ridge Thrifty Foods

Three new volunteers were recruited for the Better at Home program who will input the weekly grocery orders into the online system.

And, said Leginus, they are the same volunteers who took their orders at Thrifty’s.

The Better at Home volunteer drivers will then deliver the groceries to these seniors.

“A huge thank you goes out to our volunteers who, without their dedication and commitment, we would not be able to do all of this great work for seniors in our community,” said Leginus.

The Better at Home program is funded by the Ministry of Health and managed through the United Way of the Lower Mainland.

For more information go to comservice.bc.ca or call 604-467-6911, ext. 1206.