Abstract
Food and nutrition become ever more important to humans as we age as a social and health support for all our ailments. Aging services can provide food as socialization; programs like congregate dining and home-delivered meals constitute wellness checks and stave off depression. Therapeutic nutrition through healthcare providers and increasingly through aging services programs can provide food as medicine to treat and prevent various conditions. This symposium will examine U.S. society’s policies and practices around these social and medical nutrition supports. Where are the gaps in these supports? What challenges do nutrition aging services providers face, both in the field and from their for-profit competitors? Why are seniors in the United States food insecure and/or malnourished? What policies can lawmakers support in order to ensure that no older adult in the United States is hungry or malnourished? These questions and more will be discussed during this symposium.