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On the May 19th, 2020 webinar ‘The “New Normal” Way of Providing Key Nutrition 

Services to Seniors’, participants responded to a series of discussion questions to 

crowd-source solutions to common challenges. 

Here are all the responses we collected:

Ideas for nutrition education for older adults 

• Monthly newsletter 

• Telephone check-ins 

• Cooking via Zoom with a culinary expert

• Providing resources

• Individual education

• Small groups, plus resources to large groups

• Monthly mailings that go out with meals

• Groups emails containing nutrition ed slides as well as food demos and 

ingredients to prepare at home

• Weekly slot on public radio to talk about nutrition education

• Monthly menus that provide nutrition education

• Through Conference call bingo sessions and wellness checks

• Partnerships with MCOs using their newsletters

What barriers have you experiences, or do you anticipate from going virtual? 

• Funding

• Lack of internet access, particularly in rural areas

• Government requirements

• Even with internet access, using the technology is an issue

• Seniors not familiar with virtual, for them will offer phone nutrition 

education

• Anticipate lack of participation / Lack of interest by participants

• Many seniors in our area do not use the internet

• Access to technology in a rural area, minority, low income clients

• Limited internet, smart phone access in our low-income participants

• Language issues

• Too many older adults that are scared of technology or they don't have 

internet
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• Reluctance to use online systems (Zoom, etc)

• Don't like being on the camera

• Too busy with other critical food insecurity work to do group nutrition 

education. Not enough funding for RDN or licensed nutrition staff and 

trained assistants to help them.

• Getting data on who has what kind of technology in the program - survey, 

during registration or reregistration

• Lack of knowledge about technology ...lack of coaches to help! Vision and 

hearing barriers...

• Limited attention span for virtual programs (can't do hour-long programs)

Persistent issues/challenges:

• I feel lucky if my clients have a flip phone & super lucky if they know how to 

retrieve messages!

• We are looking at buying equipment and also the needs for funding 

internet service. How do we distribute equipment? Do we give it away, 

loan it? How is that equitable for POC?

• I just don't see the possibility for much in this space with my clients being in 

the 27% categories: low income, no access to internet.

What solutions have you found to the barriers noted above?

• We are in a rural frontier area so internet is hard to come by. We are going 

to purchase tablets with cellular capabilities.

• Lots of guidance required for some but once connected the seniors love it!

• Providing seniors with equipment and access for virtual programs

• Telephone call canters to answer client questions: "what do you need?"

• Clients prefer direct contact

• Neighborhood partners

• Service clubs

• Education/tutoring of seniors on how to use technology. And especially now 

without being able to offer tutoring.

• Internet, zoom has been well received

• We are going to find some grants to help fund this

• In process of getting my seniors receive cellphones thru the AARP and Life 

Source support effort

• More proactive on obtaining email addresses for general information in all 

programs
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Possible incentives for reluctant older adults to join virtual programming

• People who can drive can access our organizations internet in the parking 

lot

• If we could get donated smart phones that could still access internet they 

could be given for free to help those with online access.

• Gift card for a meal pickup for number of classes attended.

• Gift cards to local grocery stores or for delivery of a meal from a restaurant.

• Entries for a drawing for prizes or gift cards?

• Peer pressure is best, but door prizes work very well

• I just heard about bingo through telephone. I haven't learned more, but 

having a game usually gets people involved.

• Win a tablet competition?

• Involve their grandchildren - they are technology experts. Or make it a 

bingo virtual education session

• Healthy cooking demonstrations seem to be fun 

• Activity bingo - it could be nutrition bingo on Facebook and could possibly 

do a call and share the activities they have done on the Bingo sheet 

• Word of mouth helps, if the activities are enjoyable. A free tablet.

• We use Senior Planet (Older Adults Technology Services). They are specialist 

for older adults learning technology and can help people over the 

telephone too!

• There may be tech folks at the local library who would make calls

• I think it would be awesome if public television would have a program 

directed toward older adults and people with disabilities to learn how to 

use technology. I also think there could be videos available by pressing a 

button for a tutorial before even starting. Like a grandpad!

• Wouldn't that be a great volunteer program for our high school students to 

demonstrate on college applications