Bay County Aging Reopens Renovated Community Kitchen
A six-week renovation at the Bay County Department on Aging’s central kitchen is complete, and officials say the updated space will help staff prepare and deliver meals more efficiently to older residents across the county.
BAY CITY, Mich. — Bay County will reopen its renovated Department on Aging central kitchen Thursday, Oct. 15, marking the completion of a project aimed at strengthening meal services for older residents.
The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at the Bay County Community Center, 800 Kennedy Drive in Bay City. Tours of the renovated kitchen and refreshments will follow the ceremony.
The project took about six weeks to complete. County officials said the improvements were designed to make the kitchen more functional and efficient for employees who prepare and coordinate meals for older adults throughout Bay County.
The kitchen supports one of the Department on Aging’s core missions: helping residents age 60 and older remain independent in their homes.
Bay County’s Department on Aging provides home-delivered meals, congregate meals at activity centers, personal care, homemaking assistance, respite care and case management. Its programs are funded through a combination of local senior millage revenue, client contributions and state and federal support.
Meal Program Serves Older Residents Across Bay County
The central kitchen is particularly important to the county’s Home Delivered Meals program.
Eligible homebound residents age 60 and older can receive meals after an intake and case-management review. The program is intended for people who have difficulty leaving home under normal circumstances and need help maintaining adequate nutrition.
In late 2024, Bay County reported that its home-delivered and congregate meal programs served more than 1,300 meals a day combined. That same quarterly report listed more than 53,000 home-delivered meals during the reporting period.
The scale of that work helps explain why even a relatively short kitchen renovation matters.
The county’s current meal program offers a rotating menu that includes items such as pork chops, chicken, fish, vegetables, potatoes and fruit. Home-delivered meal clients are asked to make a suggested donation, but the service is structured around eligibility rather than the ability to pay full cost.
Millage Money Helped Pay for Improvements
Bay County’s senior services millage helped make the renovation possible.
In 2022, voters approved a six-year levy of up to 0.85 mills for services to residents age 60 and older and for needed capital improvements to Department on Aging facilities. The proposal was estimated to raise about $2.66 million in its first year.
That vote replaced an earlier levy and added funding specifically intended to support both operations and building improvements.
County documents also show that Bay County had been planning a central kitchen remodel for several years. In 2024, the Board of Commissioners approved Spence Brothers for preconstruction and design work related to the kitchen project.
The Oct. 15 reopening represents the public-facing completion of that effort.
Aging Services Aim to Keep Residents at Home
The Department on Aging says its larger goal is to help older residents remain independent for as long as possible.
That includes more than meals. Case managers can connect residents with homemaking, personal care, respite care and other services based on need.
The department also operates activity centers where residents 60 and older can take part in social and health programs and receive a meal. The county currently asks for a suggested $2.50 donation for activity-center meals, with reservations required in advance.
The newly renovated kitchen supports that broader system by improving the place where much of the county’s meal preparation begins.
For Bay County officials, Thursday’s ribbon-cutting is less about a new room than the services that move through it every day.
The Bay County Department on Aging central kitchen reopening will begin at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Bay County Community Center, 800 Kennedy Drive in Bay City. The public may tour the kitchen after the ceremony.
Bay County Department on Aging
