the Older Americans Act of 1965<\/a>. The act established support for many services \u2013 including family caregiving, personal chores and meals \u2013 from agencies like PCA. The organization is now one of 5,000 across the U.S. that provides meal services to older Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe PCA\u2019s Senior Nutrition Program has two main offerings \u2013 home-delivered meals and others served in the organization\u2019s 28 senior centers throughout the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Connallen said PCA works carefully to ensure its meals, particularly those delivered to homes, are nutritious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThose meals are crafted specifically to meet one-third of an older adult\u2019s recommended dietary intake, and we follow rigorous nutritional standards,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd along with that opportunity, it also gives those older adults the peace of mind to know that they don\u2019t have to potentially go out of their way to cook, if they might have a disability that precludes them from doing so.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nutrition is especially important as people age.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Maslow\u2019s hierarchy, food is part of survival needs,\u201d said Monique Dowd, who is with the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s School of Nursing. \u201cIt\u2019s the basis for us to survive. And in terms of the elderly, I think it can be very challenging. On one side, people are living longer, which sounds great, but then on the other side, the quality of life isn\u2019t always the way that we dream it to be as we age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dowd explained there are many considerations as people age \u2013 including decreased muscle mass and bone density and more prevalence of issues like lactose intolerance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we think about the elderly in terms of nutrition, there [are issues like] difficulty chewing or swallowing,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the important thing is to get more or less enough protein to simply even just maintain muscle mass. It\u2019s an uphill battle to maintain muscle mass.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dowd said nutrition education and programming can also help lower the risk of certain diseases or issues for older people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTeaching about nutrition and giving nutrient-dense meals certainly reduces the risk of certain chronic diseases,\u201d she said. \u201cFor example, if they\u2019re not eating as many refined and ultra-processed foods, then that\u2019s going to decrease the risk of getting things like hypertension or diabetes.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cMeals on wheels,\u201d or food delivery programs, for seniors can be helpful as they will often have \u201cmedically tailored\u201d options that focus on senior nutrition, Dowd said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More programming\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to PCA programming, Dowd explained there are many other organizations throughout the city that help seniors with healthy living and nutrition. These programs are also helpful in other ways, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAside from the wellness part, you could also think about the social part,\u201d she said. \u201cSocial engagement is also very much part of the whole person\u2019s wellness. So keeping them socially engaged is just as important as giving them nutrient-dense meals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Connallen agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial isolation is an issue that does impact older adults at a higher rate than their younger demographics we see throughout the city,\u201d he said. \u201cOur senior centers offer safe spaces to be able to access nutritious food, and seniors also have access to things like health workshops and fitness activities and other social events that might be open to them. So in a way, the congregate meal opens up a whole host of opportunities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Congregate-Meals.jpg\")
Congregate meals bring senior center members together to eat healthily and socialize. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging)<\/p>\n
PCA\u2019s Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program also allows seniors to be more involved in their community, Connallen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis program provides vouchers to qualifying older adults to purchase fresh produce at local farmers markets throughout the state of Pennsylvania,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s always a very popular program. Those vouchers usually start to become available during the summer months.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The income-eligible program allows older adults to afford and purchase fresh produce and attend more community markets, Connallen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for getting involved with PCA\u2019s programming, Connallen said, seniors can call the organization\u2019s helpline (215-765-9040) or go to one of the organization\u2019s 28 senior centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is always a smiling and welcoming face there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is truly a place where individuals want to build connections and if you want to inquire about your eligibility at the center, they\u2019ll be more than willing to help you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For program attendees like Murray, the senior center offers a menu of activities that keep her healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just enjoy the camaraderie and the talking about our gardens and what\u2019s growing,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Southwest Senior Center\u2019s Gardening Club had a strong summer. For participants like Cynthia Murray, there is still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8484,1515,69,11983,71,70,50,5509,2355],"class_list":["post-16421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-aging","tag-food","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-corporation-for-aging","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-politics","tag-senior-living","tag-seniors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Southwest-Senior-Center-1.jpg\")
Southwest Senior Center adults gather to do many types of programming year-round, including pottery. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging)<\/p>\n