Arlington, VA – January 31, 2024 – Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inaugural Food is Medicine Summit:

Representatives from Meals on Wheels America, the national leadership organization dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation, are proudly participating in the 2024 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Food is Medicine Summit. Joined by Ipyana Spencer, Chief Health Officer, Uche Akobundu, Senior Director, Nutrition, and Julia Harrington, Senior Director, Government Relations, we’ll be advocating for one of the country’s most vulnerable communities – America’s seniors.

We applaud HHS on its new public-private partnerships designed to support and scale food is medicine interventions. Meals on Wheels America supports this direction and has been a frontline witness to the transformative impact the combination of nutritious meals and social connection has on the lives of the older adults served for 50 years. Many local Meals on Wheels programs are already providing medically tailored meals to seniors, and an extensive body of research consistently demonstrates the effectiveness of the Meals on Wheels model in reducing health care utilization, preventing nursing home admissions and generating substantial health care cost savings.

We look forward to collaborating with the Administration, Congress and cross-sector partners to continue to advance food is medicine interventions. This includes establishing home-delivered meals provided by community-based organizations as a fully reimbursable benefit through fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid—one of our organization’s top recommendations leading up to the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. Implementing this policy would help more older adults manage their chronic conditions, improve their overall health and wellbeing, and support the President’s bold goal to end hunger in America by 2030.  

Learn more about how Meals on Wheels fulfills the nutritional needs of older adults here. 

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ABOUT MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA
Meals on Wheels America is the leadership organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation. Powered by a trusted volunteer workforce, this network delivers a comprehensive solution that begins with a meal and is proven to enable independence and well-being through the additional benefits of tailored nutrition, social connection, safety and much more. By providing funding, programming, education, research and advocacy, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.