The Swampscott Senior Center officially has a new freezer as of Monday, February 2, thanks to state funding secured by State Rep. Jennifer Armini (D–Essex) and State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D–Third Essex).

“In every budget, whenever it’s possible, each representative and senator gets something called earmarks, and those tend to be smaller dollar amounts for local projects and organizations,” Armini said. “At the Senior Center, I had been there for some event and I noticed that the volunteers were washing the dishes and then having to sanitize them separately because they didn’t have an updated model. I noticed it was quite a process.”

Armini’s observations sparked her interest in securing funding for kitchen renovations at the Senior Center. The Friends of the Swampscott Senior Center helped provide the new dishwasher, Heidi Whear, the director of aging services, said. Whear added that the $25,000 in state funding has already gone toward a new industrial freezer and refrigerator, as well as cabinet door repairs. In the next few weeks, the center will receive a new garbage disposal as well.

“Not everything has to be in the multi-millions to improve people’s lives,” Armini said. “The people that work there are so special, and seniors in Swampscott really rely on them for their quality of life. If there’s something that can make it easier, I want to do it.”

Whear noted the new equipment will allow the Senior Center to potentially host more food-related events. The Senior Center already offers lunch throughout the week, with Chef Theo making an effort to make homemade meals for those who sign up.

The upgrades will also reduce trips to the store, allowing the center to save on food and stock up on goods from Restaurant Depot with the additional space.