'A very rewarding event': Seniors, families pick up Easter hams from TRIAD distribution

GREENFIELD — Fueled by community donations, Monday marked the distribution day for the 400 Easter hams that the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office TRIAD program was able to purchase to give to seniors or families in need.

The local crime-prevention and wellness initiative geared toward protecting senior citizens’ safety and welfare bought the meat from the Hannaford supermarket in Orange and brought it to area senior centers for pickup. There were 40 hams available for distribution at the John Zon Community Center in Greenfield.

“They had them all ready to go. People were in line when we came,” TRIAD Supervisor Ray Zukowski said. “It’s a very rewarding event, you know?”

People lined up inside the Pleasant Street building and waited to be handed a free ham.

“Another successful ham-arama in the bag,” Senior Center Director Hope Macary said after the lobby cleared out.

Greenfield resident Ed Thorn said he is retiring from the building materials industry and recently started stopping by the Senior Center.

“I heard about [the ham distribution] by walking in the front door, and they were able to let me just sign up for it,” Thorn said. He called the distribution “a good community activity.”

Macary praised the Sheriff’s Office and its community outreach. She said the home of the Greenfield Senior Center has been an Easter ham distribution point for about 10 years.

“I think it went great. Everybody’s really happy and it was very organized,” she said.

TRIAD also assists senior citizens with obtaining necessary medical equipment — such as wheelchairs, walkers and hospital beds — and with covering heating costs. According to Zukowski, TRIAD has responded to at least 500 calls from Franklin County seniors so far this year.

Tax-deductible donations can be made out to TRIAD UNIT and mailed to: TRIAD Unit, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, 160 Elm St., Greenfield, MA 01301.