Addressing Food Insecurity and Malnourishment Among Older Adults: The Critical Role of Older Americans Act Nutrition Programs

Abstract

Supporting the well-being of older adults has been a national imperative since the Older Americans Act (OAA) was enacted in 1965. The OAA covers several programs to support the well-being of older adults and help meet their health-related social needs (HRSNs), including the need for food and nutrition. The largest of these programs provides meals and nutrition services—both in congregate settings, such as senior centers and adult day centers, and delivered to older adults’ homes—under Title III of the OAA. While OAA-funded nutrition services have long addressed HRSNs and supported positive health outcomes among older adults, the capacity of the programs is fiscally limited and may be increasingly strained by health-care organizations increasingly looking to OAA nutrition programs to assist their efforts; for example, the Accountable Health Communities model includes universal, comprehensive screening for HRSNs, including for food insecurity (Alley, Asomugha, Conway, & Sanghavi, 2016; Billioux, Verlander, Anthony, & Alley, 2017; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, n.d.). This article summarizes some major public health issues associated with food insecurity and malnourishment among older adults—including health, health-care utilization, and cost outcomes—and reviews the benefits and costs of OAA nutrition programs in addressing these issues.