Happy 50th Birthday to the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program!

Celebrating Important Federal Legislation

Today, March 22, marks the official 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program. This important federal legislation provides funding for nutrition services for older adults and helps support programs like we have at Meals on Wheels of Loveland and Berthoud.

Congressional Resolutions supporting the OAA Nutrition Program

This month, we were excited to hear that bipartisan resolutions to honor the OAA Nutrition Progam and its 50 years of service to older adults were introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is a great milestone because it uplifts and recognizes the important work that our programs, staff, and volunteers are doing. It also helps to build momentum for increased federal funding for the program.

The House resolution was led by Representatives Susanne Bonamici (D-OR), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL), and John Katko (R-NY). This resolution also secured 58 Co-Sponsors, much in thanks to the phone calling effort that Meals on Wheels America promoted prior to its presentation.

Congressional Resolutions supporting the OAA Nutrition Program.

Senate Chairman Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) of the Senate Special Committee on Aging also authored and co-sponsored a resolution in the Senate. We are pleased to see the show of bipartisan support for both of these resolutions and acknowledgments.

You can read a joint press statement from Meals on Wheels America and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) about their response to these resolutions here. There is also an op-ed in The Hill that was co-authored by Meals on Wheels America’s President and CEO, Ellie Hollander along with NANASP Executive Director Bob Blancato. You can read this response here.

why congressional help is so important

We welcome Congress’s support for the OAA Nutrition Program. We are grateful for the support that they have provided over the past 50 years. Between March 2020 and March 2021 alone, Congress designated $1.6 billion in emergency funds over the four pandemic bills that were put forth. This support helped programs address the two critical issues that our society faces today: the growing number of people needing services and the rising costs to provide them.

However, even as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of these programs, Congress has threatened future success. As part of the omnibus passed on March 10, Congress only earmarked a small 1.5% increase in funding for the Fiscal Year 2022. Both Meals on Wheels America and NANASP agree that this 1.5% increase “in no way reflects the reality on the ground for our programs” while “eight out of to local Meals on Wheels programs are still providing more home-delivered meals than they were prior to the pandemic”.

Urge Congress to fund and protect our programs

As we all have read in the news, inflation is running high when it comes to food and gasoline costs - both important to the continuation of our nutritional programs. We can help ensure that these higher costs don’t impede our services by urging our Representatives and Senators to double funding for the nutrition programs in 2023 and encourage funding to be included in any Supplemental Appropriations bills that might be considered yet in 2022. Join the email campaign sponsored by Meals on Wheels America to help ensure that this public-private partnership is available and successful for years to come!

Email members of Congress to show support for Meals on Wheels. There is a pre-written email form to use here.