Guidance for OCNP Meals

In this section, you will find nutrition guidance for Older Californians Nutrition Program (OCNP) meals, including:

OCNP Menu Guidance
To-Go Meals Guidance for the OCNP
Emergency Meals Guidance
Restaurant Option Guidance

OCNP Menu Guidance

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The Older Californians Nutrition Program (OCNP) Menu Guidance is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 and is released with PM 21-19, replacing PM 12-17(P).

Highlights from the OCNP Menu Guidance include:

Overview of the 2020-2025 DGAs
Special nutrition considerations for older adults
Dietary patterns and target nutrients
Sample component meal pattern template
Tips for reducing sodium content in meals
Reading food labels

Coming Soon: Updated Menu Guidance for the OCNP based on the 2025-30 DGAs

Webinar:

The Menu Guidance for the Older Californians Nutrition Program webinar reviews how to apply the nutrition requirements to your OCNP meals. You can access the webinar recording by clicking on the link. The FAQs will also provide you with questions and answers from the webinar.

To-Go Meals Guidance for the OCNP

Fact Sheet:

To-Go Meals – Guidance for AAA’s & Nutrition Providers

This fact sheet provides:

Current guidance on the allowability of to-go meals under both the congregate ad home-delivered meal programs
Benefits of offering to-go meals as a complement to onsite dining
Key guidelines when providing to-go meals
Virtual activity tips for providers

Webinar:

The To-Go Meals Guidance webinar covers current policy, common scenarios, and frequently asked questions. ACLs proposed update for the Older Americans Act for Title IIIC is also reviewed.

You can access both the webinar recording and the webinar slides. The Q & A will also provide you with questions addressed during the webinar.

Emergency Meals Guidance

Emergency Meals Guidance:

Emergency meals are an important aspect of disaster planning. The Emergency Meals Guidance for the Older Californians Nutrition Program will assist you in planning emergency meals for older adults in your service area.

This resource will provide you with:

Review of meal requirements
Tips for planning emergency meals
Sample dietary pattern
Examples of shelf-stable foods

Restaurant Option Guidance

Image of Restaurant Option for the Older Californians Nutrition Program Guidance for the Area Agencies on Aging with photos of a restaurant and a food truck.

The Older Californians Nutrition Program (OCNP) Restaurant Option (RO) Guidance provides tips and tools to assist AAAs and nutrition providers to collaborate with restaurants, food trucks, and other foodservice establishments to expand dining options for older adults.

Highlights from the OCNP Restaurant Option Guidance include:

RO service models
Step-by-step guide to implement the RO
Menus
Restaurant Operations
OCNP programmatic aspects
Client orientation and sample templates