Adequate nutrition is essential for healthy aging and the prevention or delay of chronic disease and disease-related disabilities. Nutritious meals and social interaction provided by the nutrition programs help families each and every day by linking older adults to supportive services, decreasing social isolation and providing nutrition education and counseling to help decrease or manage chronic health conditions.
The nutrition programs provide nutrition services to older adults through hot nutritious congregate meals prepared on site and served in a social setting at the senior centers and through the home delivered meal programs. These programs serve as the foundation services of home and community-based care for older adults and their families.
Home delivered nutrition services enable homebound individuals to stay in their homes and communities and avoid or delay costly institutionalization. Availability of these meals also helps effect earlier hospital releases. In addition to a meal, the day-to-day contact of staff provides socialization and wellness checks to recipients which contribute as much to their emotional health as the balanced diet does for their nutritional well-being.