Meal Delivery Services Fill Gap for Aging Adults With Diverse Diets

When the mystery meals featuring North Indian specialties started appearing in my mom's fridge in Minnesota, I was curious. Where did they come from? Who was cooking vegetarian Indian food for older adults? Was my mom paying for them?

I also was thrilled. As her primary caregiver, I felt a huge wave of relief since her solidly vegetarian no-garlic diet limited her options. With a full-time job, I wasn't able to cook her daily meals, and the delivery freed up some of my time to support her other needs. She assured me her friend told her she was eligible for the free meals for which she made a voluntary donation.

It turns out they came from a Minneapolis nonprofit, SEWA-AIFW, partnering with Metro Meals on Wheels to support wellness in the South Asian community, and my mom was eligible as someone 60 or older. I was thankful she had another source for tasty delivery besides her favorite pizza order: thin-crust veggie with lots of jalapeños.

Generally, Meals on Wheels serves those 60 and older who have difficulties with shopping for food, preparing meals or socializing with others. As the population of older adults grows, so does the need to satisfy their appetites as they face more challenges in shopping and cooking for themselves. Rohini Ramanuj, a seniors program specialist for SEWA-AIFW in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, saw a rapid jump in demand from the South Asian community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"One thing we have learned from the pandemic times is how many seniors were suffering in silence, and that need has grown," she said via email.

These deliveries from Meals on Wheels' partners and other organizations, supported by a combination of federal and state funds and other donors generally, also are diversifying to recognize differing culturally conscious and health-related diets. Famous for his McDonald's cravings, even President Bill Clinton has turned to a vegan diet for health reasons.

For those without the resources of a former president, many agencies are evolving to satisfy varying diets, such as dairy free; gluten free; Hmong; Latino; Kosher; Halal and others. Menu items vary but older adults might find chicken chilaquiles, beef chow fun or lentil taco bowls.

Twice a week, SEWA-AIFW delivered a couple of meals to my mom consisting of a combination of items such as idli (steamed rice dumplings), sambar (spicy lentil vegetable soup), rice, curried vegetables, yogurt and chutneys. She'd offer to share her food with me, and it took some willpower to say no.

Though Meals on Wheels is the best known for its network of community-based programs delivering meals for 70 years to older adults, it takes a village. Currently, 5,000 organizations nationwide partner with Meals on Wheels to address hunger and isolation, with the promise of "a nutritious meal, a friendly visit and a safety check."

Often, that visitor may be the only person an older adult sees that day. The visitor, in turn, also has an opportunity to assess whether the older adults have other needs that can be addressed.

"The magic of Meals on Wheels doesn't happen until the individual consumes the meal," says Uche Akobundu, senior director of nutrition for Meals on Wheels America based in Arlington, Virginia. "Meals on Wheels service providers have earned the trust to cross the threshold of an older adult's home. Having meals people will consume is central to the process."

The need for meals in many areas of the country far exceeds available resources. In fact, one in three Meals on Wheels programs have a waiting list, Akobundu said.

Food insecurity — which experts define as lacking access to adequate food — disproportionately affects older adults who have a disability, are from communities of color or live with grandchildren, according to research from Feeding America.

Experts say the impacts include poor nutrition and health outcomes as well as mental health issues.

"More than 12 million seniors face food insecurity, 31% feel lonely," Akobundu says. "Being in the home allows Meals on Wheels staff to be able to intervene on those two issues."

A benefit of federally supported meals is that they're designed to be nutritious. In fact, the Older Americans Act requires that meals delivered with federal money align with evolving national nutrition guidelines, says Patricia Keane, national nutritionist for the Administration for Community Living.

As the population of older adults grows, connecting them to services can be an obstacle.

"One of the things we're looking at is who are we not reaching with these programs and why," Keane says. "This is one of the great challenges of these programs and the very evolving needs of the older population."

Access to these meals has a broader impact, with Keane reporting that "91% of home delivered meals participants said the meal delivery helped them live independently."

That's what SEWA-AIFW's Ramanuj finds among the older adults her organization serves. Many live alone and some don't have family members in the area. "A lot of our seniors want to remain independent, and the meal delivery program is a way to keep that independence and autonomy in their lives," she says.

That was true for my mom who received delivered meals for a couple of years.

While she lived in a senior community, the vegetarian options were limited. Although she loved the grilled cheese sandwiches and French fries, my mom opted out of the daily meat-and-potatoes meal plan available.

She was in her 90s and still cooking the South Asian cuisine she learned as a child: Dosas and coconut chutney and poori (deep-fried puffy breads) and spicy chickpeas. But arthritis slowed her down. She used a walker and often cut vegetables sitting down. Washing pots and pans became a chore that required assistance. She needed another way to get meals.

When my mom suffered a bad fall nine months before she died in 2023, she could no longer cook.

In much the same way others feel a loss of freedom when they can no longer drive, my mother felt sad and often angry about losing the joy of her own cooking.

What started as those mystery meals became a critical part of her diet for which we were both thankful.

Gita Sitaramiah is an award-winning writer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A former consumer reporter for The Minnesota Star Tribune, she has written for media outlets nationwide, including the (St. Paul) Pioneer Press and Kansas City Star. She's also worked in communications in the aging, economic development and higher education sectors. Read More