SACRAMENTO – Leaders from Meals on Wheels programs and older adult agencies throughout California will gather at the State Capitol between April 24-26 for the annual Meals on Wheels California Conference to discuss the essential service’s future and highlight the exponentially growing need for expansion of older adult nutrition programs.
The conference will happen days after a Kaiser Family Foundation Health News report highlighted new alarming data that the rate of older Californians dying of malnutrition has drastically accelerated since 2018.
According to the report, deaths attributed to malnutrition more than doubled, from about 650 in 2018 to roughly 1,400 in 2022, according to preliminary death certificate data from the California Department of Public Health. The same trend occurred nationwide, with malnutrition deaths more than doubling, from about 9,300 deaths in 2018 to roughly 20,500 in 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among large, urban counties, Sacramento had the highest rate of malnutrition deaths among those 65 or older from 2020 through 2022, according to the KFF Health News report.
Christine Winge, Vice President of the Meals on Wheels California board, states, “Malnutrition is a prevalent issue among older adults, particularly for those who are homebound, low-income, and lack access to healthy food. With the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating this problem, it is essential to recognize the critical role that Meals on Wheels California plays in providing innovative initiatives, including home delivery and partnerships with local governments, to support older adults in need.”
“Attending the Meals on Wheels California Conference is an essential step in learning about and promoting effective solutions to this urgent issue,” Winge continues.
Being homebound, low-income, and not having reliable access to healthy food greatly increases the likelihood that a person 65 and older is not eating enough or practicing poor eating habits that lead to nutritional deficiencies. The COVID-19 Pandemic and the lockdowns that accompanied the global event exacerbated this issue, but malnutrition deaths continued to climb even as lockdowns waned in 2022.
Meals on Wheels locations throughout the state have worked diligently to address this issue through innovative initiatives, including shifting to home delivery, partnering more closely with city and county governments for outreach, and becoming a meal provider for older adults experiencing homelessness.
In Santa Cruz County, for example, the Meals on Wheels provider for that county began a home-delivered breakfast program at the onset of the pandemic that supplemented the already existing lunch program. Adding this service roughly doubled the nutritional value the program was able to offer the more than 500 older adults it provides home-delivered services to.
“We knew the best way to protect older adults from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19 was to supplement their meals and ensure we provided added support during those difficult years. We did so to reduce transmission risk but also to ensure we provided 100% of our participants’ nutritional daily value to promote the health and wellness that only meals can provide,” states Ray Cancino, CEO of Community Bridges, the nonprofit agency that operates Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County.
The need to expand older adult nutrition programs will likely continue its rapid growth as older Americans (people 65 and older) are one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. Californians 85 and older, the group most prone to malnutrition, is projected to grow by about 420,000, or 54%, from 2020 to 2030, according to state Department of Finance projections.
Meals on Wheels California Conference information:
• When: Monday, April 24, 2023-Wednesday, April 26, 2023
• Where: The Urban Hive (1007 7th Street, Sacramento)
• What: Annual Meals on Wheels California conference
• Who: Meals on Wheels California leaders and older adult services providers
• Details: mowca.org/page/conference
In addition, the 2023 Virtual Senior Rally Day is scheduled for May 2, 2023. The rally provides another chance for older adult service providers to connect with State Legislators to highlight the challenges.
For more information about the rally, visit 4csl.org/senior-rally-day/welcome/.
