Older Americans Act (1965)
The act created the federal aging-services network; later amendments funded home-delivered meals that grew into the national Meals on Wheels network.
Established a nationwide infrastructure of senior meal programs.
Became a foundation for later Medicaid-funded home and community-based meal delivery.
Meals Direct is a private extension of this home-meal model, funded not by the Older Americans Act but by Medicaid waiver programs that pay for meals for eligible seniors.
