Nutrition

The Nutrition and Aging Resource Center has partnered with the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) to conduct a survey of local senior nutrition providers and area agencies on aging on the status of successfully reopened congregate meal sites after the COVID-19 pandemic. The input from this survey will be used to develop webinars, trainings, and other resources that will be housed in the Resource Center in order to share best practices.

A new Poll Extra from the National Poll on Healthy Aging takes a look at the impact of rising food costs on older adults, their overall diet, and food security. In all, three-quarters of people age 50–80 in the United States say the rising cost of groceries has affected them somewhat or a lot, and nearly a third of older adults say they are eating less healthily as a result.

The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health has released a toolkit allowing partners to provide input into the development and implementation of a national strategy on hunger, nutrition, and health that will be announced in September 2022. The toolkit is designed to faciliate conversations with members about ending hunger, improving nutrition, and increasing physical activity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health risks and financial burdens for certain at-risk populations can make access to food challenging. This issue brief explores the adjustments that states have made to nutrition programs. The brief highlights examples of opportunities available and changes that states have made to ensure older adults and persons with disabilities have access to food during the pandemic. Data and findings are drawn from the ADvancing States 2020 COVID-19 Membership Survey.

This report looks at how federal agencies can better meet the nutritional needs of older adults. The study examines how older adults' nutrition is connected to health outcomes and the extent to which federal nutrition guidelines address older adults' nutritional needs. It also outlines the challenges program providers face in meeting older adults' nutritional needs. GAO makes a series of recommendations for HHS and USDA to improve federal nutrition assistance programs for this population.

This issue brief identifies key food sources of sodium, saturated fat, empty calories, and refined grains in the diets of congregate and home delivered meal participants. It also compares these key food sources for both participants and nonparticipants and explores differences between the two groups. Click here to read more about ACL's Nutrition

The purpose of this issue brief is to describe the types of foods that participants consumed as part of congregate and home delivered meals. The brief also examines differences between participants and nonparticipants in foods consumed over 24 hours

This brief is based on surveys of local service providers and participants at congregate meal sites. The brief examines whether the effect of congregate meal participation on socialization outcomes differs for participants who attend meal sites that offer social activities and those who attend meal sites that do not offer these activities.

This issue brief from the Administration for Community Living describes the nutritional quality of congregate and home-delivered meals offered through the Nutrition Services Program and examines their compliance with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The brief also discusses how the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 was used to assess the nutritional quality of the congregate and home-delivered meals.

This fact sheet from Mathematica Policy Research summarizes findings from the Nutrition Services Program (NSP) outcomes evaluation. The fact sheet describes participants’ characteristics and their impressions of the program, and the program’s impact on food security, socialization, and and diet quality.