ZELIENOPLE — The Butler County Area Agency on Aging will no longer be able to serve meals at the Zelienople Senior Center at Luther Court on the LAS Passavant Retirement Community campus.

A state Department of Agriculture inspection on the kitchen area on April 30 found the center did not have a permanent sink for hand washing.

The center had been using a temporary hand washing station, which was found not to be acceptable according to state food serving requirements.

“That's the reason we're no longer serving food at the (Zelienople) center,” said Beth Herold, administrator for the Agency on Aging.

Herold explained that beginning July 1, the Passavant Retirement Community residents and senior center participants will have to use the free BART bus service to get lunch at either the Cranberry Senior Center at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center on Rochester Road or the Evans City Senior Center in the St. Mathias Catholic Church Social Hall off Route 68.

In May, there were about 15 to 20 individuals per day who were served lunches at Luther Court. Additional meals were served on some days due to special events such as birthday celebrations, Herold said.

To continue serving food at Luther Court, a permanent sink would have to be installed within 60 days or the center could have faced a $150 to $300 fine per day if found in violation during the follow up inspection.

There is no plan to add a permanent “hard plumbed hand sink,” Herold said, and, unfortunately, not serving meals at the Luther Court center will likely remain “permanent.” However, scheduled senior activities at the center will continue.

For those not wanting to take the BART bus to Cranberry or Evans City senior centers, Herold said the agency is referring center users to several other programs including the Zelienople Area Meals on Wheels, which offers delivery of one or two meals per day at a reasonable cost. They can be reached at 724-452-4270.

The county Agency on Aging also has a home delivered meal program for people who are essentially homebound or cannot afford the nominal rates charged by Meals on Wheels.

For information on this program, contact the county's Area Agency on Aging office at 724-282-3008.

The agency on aging oversees 11 senior centers in the county in Bruin, Butler, Chicora, Cranberry, Evans City, Mars, Mount Chestnut, West Sunbury, Slippery Rock, Winfield and Zelienople.