From Kirsten Gillibrand's website, Dec. 4, 2024
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to call for $1.842 billion in funding for the Older Americans Act (OAA) Title III-C Nutrition Program, which provides affordable meals to older adults. The funding will help deliver 251 million nutritious meals to 2.2 million older adults facing hunger nationwide, helping meet increasing demand for nutrition programs amid high grocery prices. Senator Gillibrand sent a bicameral letter calling on congressional leadership and appropriators to deliver this funding as part of the FY25 government funding package.
“Low-cost meal deliveries are a lifeline for older Americans, especially as food prices remain high,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Nutrition programs help seniors on fixed incomes access nutritious food they might not otherwise be able to afford; ensure that disabled seniors don’t go hungry because they cannot get to the grocery store; and provide homebound seniors with much-needed social interaction. That’s why I’m calling for $1.842 billion to fund these programs, which allow our seniors to stay healthy and age with dignity in their own homes.”
Senior nutrition programs help organizations like Meals on Wheels deliver nutritious food directly to seniors in need. They are associated with a variety of positive outcomes, including the reduction of hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, social isolation, and health care costs.
The full text of Senator Gillibrand’s letter to House and Senate appropriators is available here.
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