RD193 - Use of State and Federal Resources for Home-Delivered Meals to Home-Bound Individuals - September 1, 2011


Executive Summary:
Virginia’s 25 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) form the principal network for the delivery of publicly-funded, home-delivered meals to individuals living in their homes. Home-delivered meals often increase an individual’s capacity to prevent and/or manage chronic and debilitating diseases and conditions. As part of a system of long-term, community-based services and supports, they may also extend the ability of individuals to remain in, or return to, their homes and communities of choice.

How meals are prepared and delivered is a local decision. According to local capacity, AAAs contract or directly provide services in their designated areas of the Commonwealth. In federal fiscal year 2010, AAAs delivered almost 2.6 million meals to approximately 12,500 individuals from a combination of federal funds, state general funds, and other funds, together totaling approximately $12.8 million. Collectively, AAAs reported unmet demand for approximately 1.6 million meals for 3,700 unserved or underserved older Virginians.

A number of other organizations, such as religious and other non-profit organizations, also provide home-delivered meals in Virginia, based on local need. Most serve one or two communities and some, such as Meals on Wheels and Food and Friends, serve multiple cities and counties in a region. In some cases, these organizations serve people who are not eligible for services through the AAAs, serve a specific population group, provide additional nutritional services, or serve as contractors to AAAs to prepare and deliver meals to home-bound individuals.

These nutrition services agencies all share a common reliance on hundreds of volunteers, who often are important contacts and sources of referral for other needed services. These organizations, along with the AAAs, are listed in the No Wrong Door database and on the Virginia Easy Access and VirginiaNavigator websites, which provide vital information to help coordinate referrals and the delivery of home-and-community-based services. Local partnerships have grown over the years and will continue to be an important part of a well-coordinated system of long-term services and supports.