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Show Senior nutrition is important program Since its start in 1973, the Administration on Aging's Nutrition Program Pro-gram has expanded nationwide. na-tionwide. It now reaches almost 3 million older Americans in thousands of communities across the country. Last year more than 100 million hot meals were served under the program. pro-gram. Some 15 million of the meals were carried to shut-ins. Through the program, the Federal government helps communities meet some of the nutritional and social needs of older persons. Well-balanced meals can spell the difference between happy, hap-py, healthy old age and premature decline and institutionalization, nutritionists nutri-tionists say. In our community we serve from 45 to 69 Sr. Citizens on Tuesday, and Friday. Twice ' a week, presently at Ramada Inn Restaurant Senior Citizens Citi-zens gather for the meal and then card playing for 2 hours. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Thurs-days, the Senior Center is open 3 hours. On Mondays Mon-days and Wednesdays it is open from the 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and on Thursdays from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Meals times are happy social times at the nutrition nutri-tion sites. Many older persons come in search of companionship and a change of scene as much as for good food. Any may contribute something some-thing for the meals. Wonderful musical programs pro-grams and humorous readings are sometimes given for entertainment. Changing bad nutrition habits can have a positive effect on health at any age, says Dr. Robert Butler, director of the National Institute on Aging Ag-ing of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Only through nutritious diets can old people retain the capacity to remain active and productive, Dr. Butler says. Hospital and nursing home admission data indicate that nutritional nutri-tional deficiencies among the elderly run as high as 10 per cent-Federal food "consumption studies confirm con-firm that diets of older Americans are often below be-low standard both in I quality and quantity. More than two-thirds of the persons who have meals at the nutrition sites are low-income elderly persons who might have to skimp on food to make ends meet. More than half of them live alone, while the national average of Americans living alone is one in four. Grants from the Administration Admin-istration on Aging fund the major share of meal costs. State and local government contributions supply most of the rest. Many volunteers help serve the food and help provide an agreeable social soc-ial atmosphere. Average cost per meal last year was $1.73. Transportation of the elderly el-derly to the sites and other services brought total costs to $2.95 per meal served. In the course of 1977, the number of nutrition projects increased increas-ed from 845 to 1,047. The number of meal sites served by projects increased increa-sed from 6,672 to 9,166. Persons 60 and over and their spouses are eligible for the hot meals and other services offered by the sites, which generally included transportation and escort services. Some sites also offer health, recreation, education and counseling services, as well as shopping assistance assis-tance and information and referral services. |