Health and Senior Services Commissioner Heather Howard today said her Department has allocated more than $2.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to support Senior Nutrition programs statewide.  The new funding will provide tens of thousands of meals to an additional 3,000 seniors around the state.

New Jersey’s Senior Nutrition Program, which has congregate and home delivered meal components, currently provides 6 million meals to 63,000 seniors each year.  Congregate meals are those provided in a central location such as a senior center or community site.  Home delivered meals are reserved for those who cannot leave their homes due to failing health.

          “With the economy hitting retirees hard and with more and more frail seniors opting to remain at home with services rather than move into long-term care facilities, the demand for both congregate and home delivered meals is at an all-time high in New Jersey,” said Governor Jon S. Corzine. “These additional funds could not have come at a better time.”

Commissioner Howard highlighted the ARRA funding while visiting senior nutrition programs at the Harrison and East Newark Senior Centers in Hudson County.  Hudson County will receive a total of $236,187 in ARRA funding to support its senior nutrition efforts. The East Newark nutrition site was recently reopened thanks to ARRA funding. 

“This funding will continue to strengthen New Jersey’s safety net for our seniors,” Commissioner Howard said.  “These important programs give seniors the ability to maintain their dignity and independence during this difficult economic time.”

          Governor Corzine announced receipt of the new federal dollars in mid-March.  The funding is part of $100 million being made available for senior nutrition services nationwide by the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Nationally, ARRA is providing $65 million for congregate meals, $32 million for home delivered meals and $3 million for Native American nutrition programs.

Of the ARRA nutrition funds distributed to New Jersey, the 21 county-based Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) have received $1.7 million to be used for congregate nutrition programs and $914,259 for home delivered meals.  The funding distributed to each AAA (see attached chart) was made in accordance with a formula developed and implemented by the AoA.

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