ACL Awards 2026 Innovations in Nutrition Programs and Services Cooperative Agreements

ACL has announced the 2026 Innovations in Nutrition Programs and Services (INNU) grant recipients. These awards support testing and documenting innovative, scalable approaches to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of senior nutrition programs. The two selected grant recipients will receive a combined funding of approximately $910,265.

Grant Recipients

• Humboldt Senior Resource Center
• Healthcentric Advisors, Inc.

These competitive award recipients will help enhance innovation, strengthen network capacity, drive new practices and strategies to overcome challenges, and produce replicable tools and strategies to improve nutrition outcomes for older adults. This year's projects focused on increasing access to nutrition intervention services for older adults with behavioral health conditions, including those experiencing homelessness.

Anticipated impacts include measurable improvements in depression, anxiety, cognitive function, and social connection. Grant recipients will also develop scalable models and resources such as toolkits, trainings, and policy briefs to help senior nutrition providers nationwide deliver programs that meet community needs and improve service quality.

For questions about INNU grants, contact [email protected].

See Notice of Funding Opportunity: HHS-2025-ACL-AOA-INNU-0036, "Advancing Strategies to Support Older Adults with Behavioral Health Conditions in the Senior Nutrition Program Setting," posted July 21, 2025.

The Senior Nutrition Program, funded under Title III-C of the Older Americans Act, delivers a nutrition intervention (that includes nutritious meals, nutrition education, and opportunities for social connection) to millions of older adults each year. The program's goals are to reduce hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition, while promoting health and well-being and enhancing socialization. Every day, the national Senior Nutrition Program serves nutritious meals coupled with socialization and wellness opportunities across the country through a network of about 5,000 local providers. The program helps older adults remain independent, healthy, and engaged in their communities.