Library: Policy

340:105-10-68. Congregate meals service standards

Revised 9-15-2021

(a) Policy. The congregate meals service includes the provision of nutrition education and at least one hot or other appropriate meal five or more days per week, at least 250 days per year. The congregate meals service:

(1) is located at congregate settings, including adult day care facilities and multigenerational meal sites, except in rural areas where such frequency is not feasible as defined by the Assistant Secretary for Aging;

(2) provides at least 25 meals per day, including home delivered meals, at each site unless a written waiver is received from the State Agency on this requirement.

(A) Funding for a site serving less than 25 meals per day may be withdrawn and reallocated when the site does not have a waiver approved from Aging Services (AS). A waiver request must be submitted annually. An AS approved waiver may be withdrawn when a congregate meals site is not determined viable.

(B) A congregate meals site serving less than 25 meals per day is reviewed annually for continued viability by the congregate meals project and Area Agency on Aging (AAA). AS is notified by the AAA in writing when a congregate meals site consistently serves 25 or more meals per day; and

(3) complies with standards outlined in this Section, and Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:105-10-51, and 340:105-10-69 through 340:105‑10-80.

(b) Authority. The authority for this Section is Section 331 of the Older Americans Act, and Part 1321.11(a) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(1) incorporating the provisions in this Section into the Title III policies and procedures manual;

(2) providing orientation to congregate meals service staff on the policy;

(3) monitoring compliance with the policy;

(4) providing ongoing technical assistance to Title III projects regarding the policy;

(5) constructing a list of all cooking and satellite meal sites annually serving less than 25 meals per day;

(6) submitting the list and a written request for a waiver at least 30-calendar days prior to awarding funding for any nutrition project that proposes in the grant application to provide less than 25 meals per day at any site and, does not have an AS approved waiver on file. The written request includes:

(A) the status of each site, such as cooking or satellite;

(B) the average number of eligible meals served per site, per day;

(D) documentation of the rural nature of the site;

(E) pertinent demographics; and

(F) other factors that justify the waiver; and

(7) maintaining approved waiver requests on file at the AAA and congregate meals project office for review by auditors.

(d) Cross references. Refer to OAC 340:105-10-50.1(a)(4), (7), and (12); 340:105-10-51; 340:105-10-69 through 340:105-10-80; and 340:105-10-86.