People who received meals daily were three times more likely than weekly recipients to indicate that home-delivered meal service helped them feel less lonely. (Credit: iStockphoto)
“When Congress passed the Older Americans Act in 1965 to support elderly people who were struggling—often alone—to continue to live at home, a major plank of the legislation provided for home delivery of meals.
“A newly published study confirms another benefit of visitors regularly knocking on the doors of seniors in need: a significant reduction in their feelings of loneliness.
“‘This continues to build the body of evidence that home-delivered meals provide more than nutrition and food security,’ says study lead author Kali Thomas, assistant professor (research) of health services, policy and practice in the Brown University School of Public Health and a researcher at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center.”
