Council on Aging

Post date: Mar 01, 2016 9:12:33 PM

The farmers market coupons have finally arrived! They’re coupons which can be used to purchase fresh fruits and veggies at local farmers markets. They cannot be used at supermarkets or anywhere other than farmers markets.

The WCOA has a limited supply of the coupons and eligible individuals may pick them up at the Harper Center at 118 Church Street in town between the hours of 10:00 and 3:00 Monday through Friday.

Eligibility consists of;

age-participants must be at least 60 years old

finances-participants must meet income guidelines and should have an income at or below 185 percent of Federal poverty level-and the COA can quickly tell you if you’re eligible

and-you have to be a Williamstown resident to acquire coupons from the Williamstown COA, other communities have their own.

All applicants/recipients must sign a self-declaration that they meet age, income and residency requirements. Coupons will be issued on a first come, first serve basis until gone. Eligible persons will receive 1 booklet of coupons valued at $25 and one booklet per household. Coupons will be distributed until they are all gone, or September 30, whichever comes first.

Questions? Call the COA at the Harper Center at 458.8250

As an added sweetener, the folks at the Williamstown Farmers Market will double the value of each coupon used to purchase qualifying fresh produce at the market. This means that a $2.50 coupon will be worth $5 at the Williamstown market. Bakery items and cheese are not included in the process. They have a limit for the matching fund exchange of $500 and when it’s reached it’s over. This added bonus is not limited to Williamstown residents and will apply to anyone redeeming valid coupons at the market.

The WCOA have received the good news that an application written by Brian O’Grady for Section 5319 Senior Mobility grant for a brand new van has been approved. BRTA Assistant Administrator Sarah Vallieres has indicated that the new vehicle will be available to the COA in February and that there is no other information available at the moment. The COA are currently operating on a loaner van from the RTA as a temporary solution as the previous vehicle was destroyed in a collision in June 2015.

Following the success of the WTF production “Orpheus in the Berkshires” which featured several Harper Center citizens, WTF Associate Director Laura Savia and playwright Lucy Thurber returned to the Harper Center on Monday August 15 to begin anew. They lead a workshop with several new faces as participants and will be returning to the COA on a regularly scheduled basis as they develop next year’s program. More details to follow in September.

Brian O’Grady and several of his colleagues met with the New Ashford Selectmen on Monday August 15 to talk with them about creating a COA agency for seniors in the town of New Ashford. The meeting was productive and hopefully North Berkshire will have a brand new ally soon.

There are only 2 Massachusetts communities without a COA, New Ashford is currently one of them.

The annual flu shot clinic will be on Thursday September 29 from 9:00 to 11:00 at the Harper Center, 118 Church Street with the Berkshire VNA. The clinic is open to adults over the age of 18, no appointment necessary. Participants should bring Medicare or MassHealth cards –the fee is $25 for non-Medicare/MassHealth participants. Please wear short sleeves!

The COA morning walkers have assumed a new responsibility; trash pickup. They’ll be collecting cast-off items along the paths they trod-the process started on Thursday August 18 with a couple discarded plastic beverage cups…

Additional bits and numbers from the COA year just passed; there are currently 32 people involved with morning Yoga , 29 participants in Tai chi classes and 40 different folks are stretching in the exercise classes…

Outreach Worker Marion Quinn-Jowett reports that she fielded approximately 880 requests for information/ referral and was involved as a case manager with more intricate matters 500 times during the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Finally, the farmers market coupons offered from the COA have been dispensed-there are none remaining to be had from the folks at the Harper Center, a very successful season for farmer market coupons indeed! We are happy to be a part of the coupon program and we’ll definitely have more available-in July 2017.