Griswold — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, has announced that the town will receive a $411,800 grant for renovations and upgrades at the Griswold Senior Community Wellness Center.

The award, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development, will enable the town to purchase fixtures, equipment and supplies to outfit a commercial kitchen in the senior center. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the center served 4,000 meals annually through the Meals on Wheels program, including home delivery and meals served in the center’s in-house café.

During the pandemic, the center continued to provide meals for people in need.

“These federal dollars will help defray some of the costs of the Town of Griswold’s signature new community effort — a new Senior Community Wellness Center,” Courtney said in a statement. “First Selectman Todd Babbitt and Senior Center Director Tina Falck deserve great credit for exhausting every available resource to reduce the burden on Griswold taxpayers.”

“The membership of the center is a wonderful group of residents whose positive spirit deserves a new home to enhance their quality of life …,” Courtney said.