Creativity & Innovation

Generating fresh ideas and new ways of doing things can help senior nutrition programs as they navigate challenges and work to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world, from public health emergencies to meeting the needs of a new generation of older adults. Discover how programs across the country are identifying innovative and creative practices to improve services, diversifying funding, and improving the health of recipients.

Briefs

No Reservations Required: Establishing Restaurant Partnerships in the Age of COVID-19 —
Considerations for restaurant partnerships
Nutrition Initiatives During COVID-19: Findings From State Aging and Disability Agencies—
ADvancing States guide on opportunities and changes that states have made to ensure
older adults and people with disabilities have access to food
Sullivan Senior Center's St. Patrick's Day Grab & Go — Socially distanced activity serving meals
Connecting Home-delivered Meal Participants to Remote Evidence-Based Programs— NCOA article on organizations' success in pairing meals, clinical services, and evidence-based programs

Quick Guides

Recipe for Success: Dining Options (YouTube)— Bite-sized video reviewing various service delivery options
Recipe for Success: Grab-and-Go (YouTube)— Bite-sized video with tips on implementing this option
Innovation: Part Discipline, Part Creativity, All Possible — Four basic steps
Choice Menu Quick Guide — Increase participation by offering choices
- Sample Choice Menu — Examples of how choice menus are offered by four different programs

Guides

Iowa Cafe Guides
- Iowa Cafe Guide for Partners — Example restaurant partnership guide designed to help foodservice establishments partner with AAAs
- Iowa Cafe Guide for AAAs — Example restaurant partnership guide designed to help AAAs partner with foodservice establishments
Marketing Solutions for Scaling Food is Medicine Prescriptions— Guide from Milken Institute to overcoming challenges associated with Food is Medicine approach
Guide to Working With Restaurants and Grocery Stores for Meals — Guidance in partnering with food retailers to maintain competitiveness, provide high quality meals, and offer increased meal choice
Social, Mental, Emotional Health Coloring Pages — Activity guide
Innovations and Lessons Learned From COVID-19 — Examples from the aging network

Tools & Toolkits

Senior Nutrition Programs: Restaurant Program Toolkit — Key features of restaurant programs, how to create them, and promising practices for implementation and sustainability in one kit from the Nutrition and Aging Resource Center
Behavior Design Toolkit— CDC toolkit for applying behavioral design strategies to help guests make healthier choices at the meal site
Sharing Our Space— Resources for developing and enhancing intergenerational sites from Generations United and the Eisner Foundation

Presentations

Network Spotlight
- Giving People a Reason to Show Up (YouTube)— Eight-minute Network Spotlight about being able to provide and drive a nutrition program based on what older adults ask for
- Thinking Outside the Box With Meals On Wheels (YouTube)— Ten-minute Network Spotlight on creative ideas to incorporate into home-delivered meals and community outreach with George Larson
- Innovation in Nutrition Grant Model B (Encore Cafe) Replication Call With Original Grant Recipient (YouTube)— One-hour overview of the project and guidance from original grant recipient
Meal Site Environment: Institutional or Innovative — Ideas and tips to optimize the meal site environment and improve overall participation
Menu Planning: Meeting Needs ican! Module— Learn about choice menus, appropriate substitutions, medical needs of those with food allergies, culturally diverse backgrounds, and minimizing food waste
Increasing Participation - The Trifecta (YouTube)— One-hour webinar on increasing participation when area agencies on aging and restaurants partner together
Increasing Participation (YouTube)— Joint twenty-five minute webinar with NCOA Modernizing Senior Centers Resource Center on increasing participation in meal programs
Keeping Things Fresh (YouTube)— Six-minute Network Spotlight about serving fresh meals with self-grown produce in Wisconsin
Senior Center Without Walls Model (YouTube)— Five-minute Network Spotlight about delivering meals and activities for older community members in and by the community
Revamp Your Congregate Meal Program Series — Four-part series hosted by ACL’s Senior Nutrition Program that aims to help local programs increase congregate meal participation and expand community reach
- Part 1: Food Trucks (YouTube)— Seventeen-minute video
- Part 2: Cafe Connection (YouTube)— Twenty-seven minute video
- Part 3: Restaurant Model (YouTube)— Seventeen-minute video
- Part 4: Dining Dollars (YouTube)— Sixteen-minute video
Serving Frozen Home-delivered Meals (YouTube)— Three-minute Network Spotlight on how changing to frozen meals made positive impacts for the Orange County Office for the Aging (New York)
Adding Breakfast to Benefit Participants (YouTube)— Six-minute Network Spotlight on how Meals on Wheels Atlanta provides breakfast boxes to meal participants
Power Up Your Congregate Meal Program Series — ACL and NCOA events (recordings are free but require sign-in)
Enhance Hospitality — Tips for enhancing atmosphere and hospitality in congregate meal programs
- Enhance Hospitality Tip Sheet
- Suggestions for Creating a Welcoming Atmosphere
Offer More Choices — Easy ways to increase menu and meal choices
- Offer More Choices Tip Sheet
Updating Programming To Attract Baby Boomers — Example program models
Making Your Meal Program THRIVE (YouTube)— One-hour webinar on a University of Arizona Center on Aging project focused on ensuring emotionally safe, supportive, and inclusive environments, with accompanying Making Your Meal Program THRIVE Slides

Reports

Implementing a Community-Based Initiative to Improve Nutritional Intake Among HDM Recipients— LifeCare Alliance study that dives deeper into providing autonomy to older adults when it comes to selecting home-delivered meals and awareness of health complexities.
Strategies for Implementing the interRAI Home Care Frailty Scale With Home-Delivered Meal Clients— LifeCare Alliance study focused on HDM staff implementing a standardized frailty instrument with clients on a consistent basis.
Reimagining Cross-Sector Collaborations Post-Pandemic to Optimize Care for Vulnerable Homebound Older Adult Populations— Interfaith Ministries study on stakeholder collaboration to meet the needs of vulnerable older adults during the pandemic.
Long Term Support Referrals to Enhance Food Security and Wellbeing in Older Adults: Texas Physicians and Nurses on What Works— Texas Congregate Meal Initiative study on viewpoints of TX physicians and nurses in regards to decline of congregate meal programs and community-based referrals for older adults.
Implementing Medicaid Payments for “Food is Medicine"— Case study exploring how one GusNIP Produce Prescription grantee utilized Medicaid payments
True Cost of Food: Food is Medicine Case Study— Suggested policy solutions to implementing Food is Medicine interventions based on anticipated outcomes from Tufts University

Resources

Food Trucks
- Food Truck 101 for Senior Nutrition Programs — Meal program innovation
- Meals in Motion — Utilizing food trucks to innovate
- How To Start a Food Truck Business: A Step-by-Step Guide— One-hour SCORE webinar on launching a successful business
- Social Enterprising Aging Network Example: REAL Grille — Example of innovation including use of a food truck and catering services
- Meals in Motion Food Truck— Four-minute video on a Connecticut food truck that serves congregate and home-delivered meals
The Diner: Promising Practices from the Network — Example of pivoting to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Partnerships With Food Banks and Other United States Department of Agriculture Programs — Frequently asked questions on how Older Americans Act programs can partner with SNAP, TEFAP, food banks, SFMNP, etc.