Nutrition Innovations Initiative

Title III C 1.5 Meal Box Demonstration

The project is made possible by a 2020 federal Administration for Community Living grant.

AgeOptions will test what we are referring to as Title III C 1.5, a program that addresses a gap in the continuum of services under the Older Americans Act between Title III C 1, Congregate Meals and Title III C 2, Home Delivered Meals. The program’s goal is the modernization of the nutrition infrastructure by:

• Targeting an unmet need through an alternative delivery mechanism using unique partnerships
• Providing a new lower-cost decreased overhead option of 21 meals per week
• Providing opportunities for socialization for persons who are at-risk of isolation
• Decreasing food waste; increasing food consumption
• Targeting an ethnically, racially diverse and limited English-speaking older adult population with emphasis on those with chronic conditions requiring tailor-made diets of fresh, frozen and shelf-stable food.

Title III C 1.5 will address the needs of older adults who are unable to shop, but want to cook or persons who are unable to shop and cook but may have a home care worker who could make the meals.

Under this grant, AgeOptions will develop in collaboration with partnering agencies, meal boxes designed for cultural preferences and dietary requirements of a number of ethnic populations. Meal plans and recipes will be included in the food/meal boxes in order that when the food is prepared, it will meet federal nutritional requirements.

A national advisory council comprised of our partners and national leaders in nutrition will help us move the program through its development, implementation and transition to community-based agencies.

For more information, please contact AgeOptions at 708-383-0258.

This project is supported, in part by grant number 90INNU 0024-01-00 from the Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy