Scaling Delivery & No Contact Models for Food Assistance to Older Adults During the COVID-19 Crisis

Promising Practices

In March 2020, as the state of California issued stay at home orders in response to the Coronavirus crisis, the California Department of Aging (CDA) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) recognized the unprecedented need to address the food security implications for older adults sheltering in place. They formed a COVID-19 CBO Senior Food Delivery Local Operations Work Group with representatives from a diverse set of community based organizations (CBOs) to identify how local CBOs could coordinate and get support for food delivery, both grocery and meal, especially for aging and at risk adults, and how the state departments could best and quickly support that critical work.

This document is a product of that work group. It is a repository of promising practices and helpful resources to provide safe food delivery and no contact distribution models to low income older adults during the crisis. It includes examples of models being rolled out throughout the state, specific case studies, and resources to support community based organizations and public entities to quickly, safely, and effectively scale services to meet the need.