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Abstract
For home-delivered meals to have a beneficial impact on older persons, it is important that both delivery of services and use by older persons are adequate. From November 2004 to February 2005, we conducted a random-sample telephone survey of 1505 New York City home-delivered meals recipients, asking them about adequacy of and satisfaction with delivery of services and use of meal services. Fourteen percent of recipients relied solely on program food. Two-thirds prepared other foods themselves. Consumption of fruit, vegetables, and milk was low; 14–20% of recipients consumed each of these less than 1 time per day. Most recipients saw (and about half talked with) the meal deliverer most of the time. Most could contact the meal provider agency, but had not done so. A second stratified sample of 500 meal recipients was surveyed in June 2006 regarding satisfaction with food packaging and labels, food acquisition, meal delivery, and meal variety. About three-fourths of recipients reported satisfaction most of the time with the meals in terms of taste, variety, ease of preparation, healthfulness, and fit to religious or cultural needs. The most satisfied recipients were those who were receiving hot meals, food-secure, without hearing problems, frailer, in better emotional health, with informal social support, and more religious.
This study was conducted jointly by Citymeals-on-Wheels of New York and the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging, an Edward R. Roybal Center funded by the National Institute on Aging (1 P30 AG022845, Karl Pillemer, PI). Dr. Edward A. Frongillo directed the study in collaboration with Marjorie H. Cantor, Marcia Stein, Andrea Kopel, Rachel Sherrow, Mark Sweeney, Thalia MacMillan, Tanushree Dutta, Megan Henry, Dr. Karl Pillemer, Dr. Elaine Wethington, Jaclyn Daitchman, and the Cornell Survey Research Institute. We are grateful to meal recipients for providing the information collected in this study and our advisory group for suggestions. Funding for the study was provided by Citymeals-on-Wheels, Community Trust, Cornell Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center, the National Institute on Aging, and Weill-Cornell Medical College.