Food Assistance for Seniors

Senior Congregate Meals at Senior Centers

• Senior Centers across the state serve congregate meals such as breakfast and a hot nutritious lunch free or for a small donation.
• Senior Centers usually ask that meal reservations be made 24 hours in advance.
• There is often a small suggested donation for meals, although they can not collect the donation in a way that makes seniors feel obligated to pay if they cannot afford it.
• Senior Centers are allowed to accept Food Stamp benefits as payment.
• Locations and contact info for each senior center can be found on the Utah Department of Human Services, Aging and Adult Services website:  www.hsdaas.state.ut.us/locations.htm

Home-Delivered Meals

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Meals on Wheels is the primary program in the state that focuses on getting food assistance to the elderly.

• Visit the Meals on Wheels website for specific site locations as well as the Meal Call site.
• In Salt Lake County, visit the Salt Lake County Aging Services program and Meals on Wheels. Click Here for more information.
• To learn more about volunteering with Meals on Wheels in Salt Lake County, click HERE.
• Learn more about Meals on Wheels by watching the video at the bottom of this page about Meals on Wheels in Utah County.

Food Stamps

In the last ten years, Food Stamps have been converted from physical coupons to an electronic benefits transfer card that looks and functions like a debit card (see image on the right).  These cards store benefits for multiple programs, including for instance General Assistance, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Food Stamps, and others.  Food Stamps can be spent on eligible food items in grocery stores and also at farmers markets as well as plants and seeds that produce food for human consumption.

Utah Food Bank Services

The Utah Food Bank has two programs that provide Seniors with food boxes once a month.  Click on the titles of the programs below for more information and to sign up for them:

• Senior Meal Boxes: (Seniors must be between 125% -150% of poverty to qualify)
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (Seniors must be below 125% of poverty to qualify)

Independent Living Centers

Independent Living Centers often provide seniors with transportation to get to the grocery store or pantries.  Even if they don’t provide a monthly shopping trip, they will help seniors explore alternatives.   Check out the list of these centers by clicking HERE.