Meals on Wheels' congregate meal program provides nutritious meals to older adults at several partnering locations across Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Just as importantly, the program creates opportunities for older adults to connect with others, combat loneliness and build community through the simple act of sharing a meal.
It’s one thing to enjoy the meal you’re eating—it’s another to enjoy that meal in good company. Sharing the table with others and trading conversation between bites is one of humankind’s most enduring and significant customs. It blends nutrition with social connection and creates an experience that’s good for the soul.
At Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, we see that experience unfold every weekday. Our congregate meal program includes partnerships with 24 locations around the region where we provide meals to older adults in communal settings. Meals are prepared in our kitchen, delivered to congregate locations, and served by staff and volunteers. They often complement holidays, special events and other celebrations and opportunities to gather.
The congregate meal program brings our aging neighbors together to dine, converse, find points of connection and cultivate community—key ingredients impacting our quality of life. For older adults, the ritual of having meals in good company plays an essential role in overall health and wellbeing.
Come for the Meals
Nutritious food is vital to every human being. Yet many of our aging community members in the Commonwealth of Kentucky experience food insecurity to varying degrees. Approximately 21 percent of adults age 60 or older have limited or uncertain access to adequate food. About 23 percent eat less than one vegetable a day, and 42 percent eat less than one fruit a day, according to data compiled by Meals on Wheels America.
Congregate meals provide a critical solution to food insecurity for older adults. Having consistent access to nutritious meals can keep chronic conditions from developing or worsening. Good nutrition, it has been found, reduces the risk of diet-related illnesses, maintains muscle mass and cognitive performance, and prevents frailty among older adults.
Locally, seniors who participate in Meals on Wheels’ congregate meal program have shared positive outcomes as well. They report being able to eat regularly, not skipping meals, not having to worry about meeting nutritional needs, maintaining a balanced and well-portioned diet, not having to cook when cooking poses a challenge and enjoying a variety of foods.
Stay for the Company
Social isolation has more impact on our physical health than we may realize. It is linked to cognitive decline, depression and anxiety, and it can increase the chances of stroke and heart attack. Loneliness is not just a feeling—it’s a weight we carry emotionally, mentally and physically.
Older adults experience isolation and loneliness differently from other age groups. The golden years, as they are called, arrive with challenges. Unique life changes (like retirement, loss of a loved one, adapting to new technology and changes in transportation or mobility) easily contribute to the impacts of isolation and loneliness. Meals on Wheels America indicates 56 percent of seniors in the U.S. report feeling lonely.
Staying connected with others, whether they are newfound acquaintances or longtime friends, can keep those challenges at bay.
Congregate meals often facilitate that. In fact, Meals on Wheels surveyed the seniors who attend congregate meals in Northern Kentucky: 92 percent agree the meals help them follow a healthy diet and 91 percent agree the meals help them maintain their independence.
Join us at the Table
Meals on Wheels manages the OTR Senior Center, which offers breakfast and lunch five days a week, but our congregate partners manage their sites independently. Take a look at our congregate meal partner list for location information and to connect with them directly!
Want to connect with our team to learn a little more? Contact Meals on Wheels' Customer Care at 513-661-2777.