Sodium Reduction Toolkit Reference List

A Compilation of Resources and References Used in Toolkit 

Documents

Guide to SUA Sodium Policies and Guidance

• Nutrition Requirements of the OAA: Reviews the basic requirements and 

provides information on flexibilities and responsibilities of the Older Americans 

Act (OAA). 

• Policy and Practice Implications for Senior Nutrition Programs: Guide to help 

senior nutrition programs develop policies that meet the OAA requirements to 

align with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

• Dietary Guidelines and Dietary Reference Intakes Network Discussion

(YouTube) and takeaway sheet. 

• DGA Toolkit: Provides information on general guidelines for nutrient analysis 

and meal patterns.

Building Emergency Shelf-Stable Meals

• NRCNA Contracting Tips for Purchasing Meals 2020: Recommended process 

and considerations for sourcing meals.

• FAQ: Managing OAA Funded Senior Nutrition Programs During Emergencies: 

Frequently asked questions related to operating in times of emergency.

• Understanding Nutrition Requirements During COVID-19: DRIs and DGAs: 

Detailed information on nutrition requirements and how they’ve been affected 

by the pandemic.

• Guide for Menu Planning (Iowa Department on Aging): Two-week shelf-stable 

menu, 10-meal grocery kit, and 20-meal shelf-stable emergency response kit.
• Preparing a 2-week emergency food supply | UMN Extension: Resource on 

emergency meal planning with a two-week menu, shopping list, and recipes 

that is adaptable for nutrition program needs.

• Guidance for Industry: Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: FDA guidance 

document and tables with sodium reduction targets by food category.

FDA Sodium Guidance and Healthy Meals for Older Adults

• Ostchega Y, Fryar CD, Nwankwo T, Nguyen DT. Hypertension prevalence among 

adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2017–2018. NCHS Data Brief, no 364. 

Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2020.

• U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 

2020. Available at DietaryGuidelines.gov.

• Overview of Older Americans Act Title III, VI, and VII Programs: 2020 Summary 

of Highlights and Accomplishments: ACL report.

• Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: Target Mean and Upper Bound 

Concentrations for Sodium in Commercially Processed, Packaged, and 

Prepared Foods: Guidance for Industry: FDA Guidance. 

Managing Sodium in Meals and Menus

• Key Food Sources of Sodium, Saturated Fat, Empty Calories, and Refined 

Grains in the Diets of Program Participants: ACL issue brief. 

• Tips for Reducing Sodium without Reducing Flavor: NRCNA practice brief.

• Sodium Reduction in Foodservice: A Resource for Public Health Professionals 

Partnering with Food Service Providers: CDC tip sheets for non-foodservice 

professionals to use in working with foodservice providers.

• Delicious Heart Healthy Eating: NIH webpage with multicultural heart-healthy 

recipes and other resources that follow the DASH diet guidelines.

• Mastering Healthy and Flavorful Cooking: Department of Defense fact sheet on 

various cooking methods; how to retain nutrients; and practices to lower salt, 

fat, and caloric content.

• Tips to Reduce Salt and Sodium: NIH fact sheet on ways to lower sodium intake 

and examples of common high-sodium foods.
Salt and Sodium

• Sodium in Your Diet: FDA webpage with tips on reducing sodium, using 

Nutrition Facts labels, and more.

• FoodData Central Salt, Table: USDA tool that provides nutrient content for 

various amounts of salt. This data system can be used to search for other 

ingredients and foods.

Create a Flavor Station

• Sodium and Food Sources Includes the definition for salt versus sodium, plus 

the top ten sources of sodium in the US diet.

• Spice It Up Fact Sheet: Navy and Marine Corps resource covering seasonings 

and spices, with taste profiles and types of recipes/foods to use them in.

• Use Herbs and Spices Instead of Salt: NIH resource with examples of different 

seasonings to use for specific types of foods.

• Spice Up Your Lunchroom with a Flavor Station: Smarter Lunchrooms 

Movement National Office PowerPoint. 

Sodium Reduction Resources

• Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition Flavor Enhancement Page Training 

infographics, posters and videos with healthy cooking and kitchen tips 

• Homegrown Taste Test Guide This simple guide can help plan and structure 

taste tests.

• Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CiCN) Flavor Enhancement Page Training

tools including infographics, videos and posters on low sodium, high flavor 

cooking methods. 

• The ICN Child Nutrition Recipe Box Standardized Recipes Standardized recipes 

for 25 and 50 servings that are applicable to an older adult population.

• Tips for Reducing Sodium without Reducing Flavor: NRCNA tip sheet.

• Contracting Tips for Purchasing Meals: NRCNA tip sheet.