{"id":"older-americans-act-senior-nutrition-program","name":"Older Americans Act Senior Nutrition Program","provider":"State and Area Agencies on Aging and local nutrition providers","entitlement_type":"government-benefit","entitlement_type_label":"Government benefit","entitlement_type_context":{"definition":"A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route.","domain":"public-benefits","archetype":"direct-program","agent_instruction":"Identify the administering jurisdiction and disclose income, household, age, disability, immigration, residence, renewal, fee, and capacity rules that apply."},"summary":"The Older Americans Act funds local congregate and home-delivered meal programs that support nutrition, social connection, wellness checks, and independent living for older adults.","benefit":{"description":"Nutritious meals in community settings or delivered to eligible homebound participants, along with nutrition education, screening or counseling where offered, social contact, wellness checks, and connections to other aging services.","estimated_value_usd":null},"discovery":{"focus":"public-service","has_estimated_dollar_value":false},"access":{"relationships":["Older adult eligible for a local senior nutrition program","Eligible spouse or person with a disability under local program rules"],"requirements":"Congregate services are generally available to people age 60 or older and spouses of any age, with additional categories for certain people with disabilities, volunteers, and people living with an eligible older adult. Home-delivered services generally require age-based eligibility plus being homebound or otherwise unable to obtain meals; local agencies set assessment, priority, frequency, and capacity rules.","activation":"Use the Eldercare Locator to find the Area Agency on Aging or serving meal provider, ask for congregate meal locations or a home-delivered-meal assessment, and complete local eligibility and scheduling steps.","cost_basis":"varies","cost_basis_label":"Variable by provider or eligibility","cost_basis_context":{"classification":"variable","definition":"The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.","agent_instruction":"Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.","variation_patterns":["bounded price range","provider-set price","income-based sliding scale","coverage or service-dependent cost sharing","partial subsidy","directory of programs with different terms"],"does_not_mean":["universally free","cost information was necessarily omitted"]},"fees":"Programs cannot deny an eligible older person because they do not contribute, but providers may invite confidential voluntary contributions and can use waiting lists or priority rules when capacity is limited. Meal frequency, menus, delivery, guest pricing, and any permitted cost-sharing practices vary locally.","personalized":false,"regions":["US","State, Tribal, territory, and local aging-network service areas"],"expires":null},"status":"verified","last_checked":"2026-08-04","claim_url":"https://eldercare.acl.gov/home","source_url":"https://acl.gov/programs/health-wellness/nutrition-services","source":{"primary_url":"https://acl.gov/programs/health-wellness/nutrition-services","evidence":[{"source":"State and Area Agencies on Aging and local nutrition providers","url":"https://acl.gov/programs/health-wellness/nutrition-services","kind":"provider","checked_at":"2026-08-04"}]},"parent":null,"coverage":{"level":"national","family":"aging-and-disability","jurisdiction":"United States","maturity":"direct"},"web_url":"/benefits/older-americans-act-senior-nutrition-program","taxonomy":{"version":"1.0","url":"/api/v1/taxonomy"}}