Grants to Provide Meals for Older Adults

Good news coming at the right time for older adults in South Dakota from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that $250 million in grants from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) will help communities provide meals for older adults.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into law by President Trump on March 18, 2020, provided the additional funding for the nutrition services programs to provide meals to more than 2.4 million older adults each year, both through home delivery and in places like community centers. The need for these services, particularly home-delivered and packaged meals, has increased as community measures to slow transmission of COVID-19 have closed meal sites and have left many family caregivers unable to assist their older loved ones.

In addition to meals, there are resources that help with basic needs such as bathing and dressing, rides to doctors’ offices, education on managing chronic illnesses, support for family caregivers, and much more.

Older adults who need assistance can contact the Eldercare Locator to find services available in their community. The Eldercare Locator can be reached at 1-800-677-1116 or https://eldercare.acl.gov/.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.