HISTORY:
The City currently has five congregate meal sites:
* 6th Street Community Center
* Rebecca Towers
* Council Towers
* Federation Towers
* Stella Maris
These meal sites are served by two providers: Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS) and Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers (LHANC). The bulk of the funding for these sites is provided by the Alliance for Aging from the Older Americans Act (OAA), Title III program. This program is awarded through competitive process. The next Request For Proposals(RFP) for this funding is expected to be released in April 2018.
Unidad had previously received funding from the OAA but had lost the grant when the timeline for completion of the Unidad Senior Center did not meet the timelines for the grant. UNIDAD has told the City that they were the highest ranked RFP when they won the grant for the OAA and has informed the City that they intend to apply for funding in the next OAA cycle.
In terms of structure, congregate meal sites are expected to address four specific issues affecting elders:
* Reduce hunger and food insecurity;
* Promote socialization;
* Promote health and wellbeing; and
* Delay adverse health conditions.
JCS and LHANC address these issues by providing access to healthy meals, nutrition education and nutrition counseling in addition to socialization opportunities. The OAA requires that nutrition service providers ensure that meals meet food and nutrient requirements, are safe to serve and are appealing to adults. Meals offered must meet the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) which are issued every five years by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. Based on the most current science, the DGAs are designed to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic disease through healthy eating and physical activity. Meals must provide at least one-third of the Dietary Reference Intakes. The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are nutrient reference values developed by the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies. They are intended to serve as a guide for good nutrition and provide the scientific basis for the development of food guidelines in both the United States and Canada.
Meals offered are to meet state and local food service laws, rules and regulations to ensure that the meals served are safe and sanitary. Most states base their state and local food service codes on the most recent edition of the Food Code published by the U.S. Public Health Service and the Food and Drug Administration. Elder meal site providers utilize registered dieticians to design the meal menus for nutrition and appeal to those they serve.
At its December 20, 2017 meeting, the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) discussed the quality of food served by providers in Miami Beach that at funded by the City. JCS is the only provider funded by the City, presented on their standards for food quality. During the discussion, the Committee discussed concerns regarding a decline in senior meals service in the City over time. As a result the Committee requested that the City provide a cost estimate for the creation of a congregate meal site in North Beach to serve up to 100 elder residents, with a focus on the Unidad Senior Facility. NCAC directed staff to return to its January meeting with a framework and budget estimate for the creation of such a site.