The National Senior Nutrition Program

On December 15, 2022 U.S. Senate Special Committe on Aging held a hearing to recognize the impact of federal nutrition assistance programs in reducing hunger among older adults. At the hearing, the Committee released a bipartisan report, entitled “Recognizing 50 Years of the Nation’s First Nutrition Program for Older Adults.” The report celebrates the role of the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program in reducing hunger, promoting health, and enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life of older adults. The Committee also released state-by-state fact sheets highlighting the impact of the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program in each Committee member’s state.

ACL’s Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs (ONHPP) has released a new collection of resources to help senior nutrition programs better understand and meet dietary guidelines, as well as requirements of the Older Americans Act (OAA).

This month, ACL is recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Senior Nutrition Program with the theme, "Celebrate. Innovate. Educate." ACL has shared a few items to help promote senior nutrition programs on the anniversary webpage, including social media graphics, activity ideas, and news releases.

ACL is collecting material from local nutrition programs, including photographs, quotes, newspaper clippings, and other materials that highlight Senior Nutrition Programs. In the request, ACL asks for high-quality JPG/PNGs of all types of nutrition activities, from grab-and-go events to nutrition education classes. A release form must be signed by every person shown. Please include the program name, location, a brief description of what is being shared, and the year it was published/produced. Submissions must be received by email by March 18, 2022.

As part of the Senior Nutrition Program 50th Anniversary celebration, ACL is soliciting nominations for nutrition “Champion awards.” These awards will recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Senior Nutrition Program at the state, area, and local levels. The deadline to submit nominations is March 2, 2022.

ACL has annouced a redesign of their Nutrition and Aging Resource Center website. Content has been reorganized into key sections, including training and tools, success stories, and data and evaluation. A broad range of subsections further organize content into categories such as innovative models and events.