Community meal providers and diners are happy about the healthier dinners that the Agape Community Center recently started to offer.

The center has taken the lead in upgrading the nutritional value of community meals by asking its 19 volunteer providers to substitute lower fat meats, such as turkey for beef, and adding more whole grains and fresh vegetables and fruits. Agape also asked providers to eliminate fat- and sugar-laden desserts.

Churches, synagogues and businesses are among the groups who buy, cook and serve dinners at the center on a rotating schedule.

These changes are the most recent in a series of adjustments the center has made over the last several years to promote healthy eating and combat the national obesity epidemic. Agape’s surveys of meal recipients have shown a desire for healthier food, according to the center’s executive director, Ann Bachrach.