Get updated on the latest and greatest in congregate dining!

In this episode, Bob interviews two ACL Innovation in Nutrition grantees - Tasha Romo from Humboldt County Senior Services, CA and Derek Anderson from AgeSpan, MA - about their exciting approaches to reaching both rural and urban seniors, including those from immigrant communities and those who live in remote areas without existing meal sites.

Tasha and Derek share their program successes:

• Helping local businesses recover from pandemic losses in sales
• To date, data shows these programs are reducing food insecurity and loneliness
• Customer satisfaction is "through the roof"
• Restaurants and cafes are attracting younger seniors
• Pop-up sites help serve areas away from existing nutrition sites and that also do not have local grocery stores

And, their challenges:

• Higher than anticipated attendance, exceeding goals of original grant (a good problem to have!) Addressing this by expanding partnerships and fundraising.
• Food costs. Addressing this by working closely with dietitians to develop menus that are cost effective, culturally appropriate and meet the nutrition requirements.

Resources for cafes, restaurant and pop-up meal sites can be found at the Nutrition & Aging Resource Center::

Looking to Innovate Section - Grantee Spotlight, Capstone Projects, and more.

Restaurant Section- Restaurant Toolkit, Iowa's Cafe, Working with Grocery Stores, and more.