Meals and Nutrition

CVCOA provides nutrition programs and resources that help older adults maintain their health and well-being.

• Funding and technical assistance for home-delivered (Meals on Wheels), congregate, and grab-and-go nutrition programs throughout Central Vermont.
• Nutrition education events to help older adults understand dietary and nutrition needs.
• Consultations with registered dieticians to ensure individuals are addressing specific nutrition needs.
• Benefits and resources counseling for food assistance programs like 3Squares VT, Commodities Supplemental Food Program, and local food shelves. 

Our Meals on Wheels and Community Meal nutrition programs serve older Central Vermont Residents.

Each year, CVCOA partner meal programs serve over 200,000 meals, ensuring the well-being of nearly 2,000 older adults. A registered dietitian reviews all menus to ensure that meals prepared with CVCOA’s support provide older adults with the nutrition needed for good health.

Meals on Wheels keep high-risk older adults, who often have chronic health conditions, safer and healthier in their own homes. Volunteers deliver more than nutritious meals. Their in-person visits and wellness checks create a trusting relationship that helps reduce social isolation and loneliness.

A person is eligible for Meals on Wheels if the individual is 60 or over and unable to obtain or prepare meals on a temporary or permanent basis due to:

• a physical or mental condition (ongoing or temporary)
• lack of or inadequate facilities to prepare meals
• inability to shop, cook, or prepare meals safely

Also eligible:

•  a spouse, regardless of age, of eligible individuals
• individuals under 60 years of age with a disability, who reside with an eligible individual

Preference will be given to individuals who are low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and at risk for institutional placement.

Community meals at one of our local nutrition sites provide a wonderful opportunity to socialize while enjoying a nutritious meal.

We partner with 12 meal sites throughout the region to prepare and serve nutritious meals. We encourage you to contact the meal site directly to register for Meals on Wheels to make a reservation for the community meal. To find your meal site, visit our Nutrition Program page to locate the program in your town.

A person is eligibile if they are:

• 60 years of age or older
• Handicapped or disabled and living in a housing facility where a meal program is operated
• Volunteers under 60 performing essential duties for the operation of the meal program
• OR the spouse of an eligible recipient, regardless of age

While there is no charge for the meal for those 60+, each site has a suggested donation for Meals On Wheelss and the community meal. Guests under 60 at the community meals are charged.

Grab-and-Go meals are provided at most of the nutrition programs in Central Vermont. This new opportunity emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be a preferred way for many to receive nutritious meals. This meal option also helps encourage socialization between the person picking up the meal and the meal recipient. 

Volunteers help make our Meals On Wheels and community meals possible. To help make a difference, volunteer!

More Ways to Get the Food You Need to Stay Healthy:

We can help you to connect with several other meal and food programs to keep you eating well by calling the CVCOA Helpline at 1-802-477-1364:

• 3SquaresVT provides a monthly benefit to help stretch your food budget. For more details,visit: 3SquaresVT Resource Hub: Hunger Free VT (*If you are eligible for 3SquaresVT, you may also be eligible for Fuel Assistance) and 3SquaresVT60plus
  • The 2022 cost of living increase to social security benefits may affect some households' eligibility for 3Squares VT. Click here to learn more about the recent changes or call the CVCOA Helpline at 1 (802) 477-1364 if you have questions about the benefits you're receiving. 
• Commodities Supplemental Food Program provides free monthly food to lower income older adults
• Food shelves provide additional food when your budget is tight

 Find your healthy eating style and build it throughout your lifetime.  Visit MyPlate.Gov