This section presents the results of the survey of home delivered meals recipients. Home delivered meals programs typically offer one meal per day during the week to older persons with high levels of frailty and low incomes, and they constitute an important part of the full spectrum of home and community-based services as alternatives to institutionalization. According to the AoA figures for the 2003 federal fiscal year, the network of State and Area Agencies on Aging spent $659.5 million on home delivered meals services.
 
Survey Content and Results
 
The home-delivered meal questionaire covered the following topical areas:

• Source of referral to the meals program
• Frequency of receiving of meals
• Daily dietary intake
• Client satisfaction with the program
• Self-reported outcomes as a result of program participation
• Use of other service
• Self-reported health status and use of health services
• Home Care Satisfaction Measure
• Demographic characteristics
• Social functioning (using questions from the Longitudinal Study of Aging II)*
• Emotional well being (using questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System)*
• Physical functioning (using Activity and Instrumental Activity of Daily Living Limitations)*