Friday, May 29, 2026 p.m. at 2:00 p.m. ET

This is a live webinar that will be recorded.

As Americans age, nutrition becomes one of the most important—and often overlooked—drivers of health, independence, functional ability, and quality of life. Older adults face unique nutritional challenges shaped by chronic disease, social isolation, mobility limitations, medication interactions, fixed incomes, and barriers to food access. Addressing these challenges requires more than emergency food support alone; it requires coordinated nutrition interventions that support healthy aging across health care and community settings.

Increasingly, policymakers, clinicians, researchers, and community organizations are recognizing the critical role that nutrition interventions can play in improving outcomes for older adults. These interventions range from congregate and home-delivered meals to medically tailored meals, nutrition counseling, produce prescriptions, culturally appropriate meal services, and community-based nutrition supports. Together, these approaches are helping redefine nutrition as a core component of healthy aging and chronic disease management.

At the same time, the systems supporting older adult nutrition are under growing strain. Federal funding for Older Americans Act nutrition programs has remained insufficient relative to rising need. Community nutrition providers face workforce and capacity challenges, while Medicare Advantage and other payers continue to evaluate how nutrition benefits fit into broader models of care.

In recognition of Older Americans Month, Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs convene this timely discussion exploring the future of older adult nutrition in America. The conversation will examine the evolving evidence base for nutrition interventions, including Food is Medicine approaches, the intersection of aging and health policy, and the practical realities of implementation at the community level. Join us as we explore what it will take to build sustainable systems that ensure older adults have access to the nutrition support they need to live healthier, safer, and more independent lives.

This is a free, one-hour live webinar open to the public.

Register to attend the live event and receive the recording.

Meet Our Panelists

Robert Blancato

Executive Director, NANASP

Robert “Bob” Blancato is the president of Matz, Blancato & Associates in Washington, DC.

In that capacity, he serves as the Executive Director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, and the National Coordinator for Defeat Malnutrition Today Coalition.

Bob’s prior work includes more than 20 years of public service including 17 years as a senior staffer in the House of Representatives, and an appointment by President Clinton to serve as the Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, one of four he has participated in. He has been appointed to several federal advisory committees including the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. Bob is a member of the Senior Executive Service.

Bob is recognized as a national policy advocate for older adults, and has testified on numerous occasions before Senate and House Committees and federal agencies

As a volunteer, he is second vice chair on the AARP Board of Directors and a member of the AARP Foundation Board. He also serves on the Board of the National Hispanic Council on Aging, the Next 50 Foundation, Health Force, and Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands. Prior volunteer service included being chair of the American Society on Aging and on the board of the National Council on Aging.

Bob was inducted into the American Society of Aging’s Hall of fame in 2022. In 2023, he was awarded Generations United’s highest advocacy award. Most recently, he was elected to be a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine in December 2025.

Patrick Stover

Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and Director of the Institute for Connecting Nutrition and Health (ICON-Health) at Florida State University

Patrick J. Stover is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and Director of the Institute for Connecting Nutrition and Health (ICON-Health) at Florida State University. Previously, we was a distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Texas A&M University, served as the founding Director of the Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture at the Texas A&M University System; Vice Chancellor at the Texas A&M University System, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and Director the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Saint Joseph’s University, a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from the Medical College of Virginia, and completed his postdoctoral studies in nutritional sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.

His research addresses the biochemical, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that underlie the relationships between nutrition, food fortification and human pathologies such as developmental anomalies, neuropathies and cancer. His research group developed the only folic-acid responsive mouse model of neural tube defects resulting from disruption of a folate-requiring enzyme; the mouse model is also sensitized to folate-responsive cancers and neuropathies. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also former president of the American Society for Nutrition and has served two terms on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board. He received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Clinton, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

Kathleen Graim

Chief Program Officer, Feedmore NY

Kathy Graim is an accomplished Chief Programs Officer at FeedMore WNY leading our Strategic Planning and Operations Management team. She has significantly enhanced program efficiency and stakeholder engagement through her decades-long experience in the local food industry, including her role as Merchandising & Training Specialist at a leading regional grocery store chain. She has leveraged exceptional communication and leadership skills to foster team collaboration and drive organizational development with a proven track record in crisis management and profitability improvement, demonstrating a commitment to excellence and innovation.

Moderated by Corby Kummer, executive director, Food & Society