Help for older adults

Last updated April 15, 2021 at 9:47 AM

If you are an older adult or care for one, here are safe and reliable options for getting help with:

Great Plates – food delivery

California’s older adults can get three free, restaurant-quality meals through Great Plates Delivered. This home delivery program helps seniors stay safe at home during the pandemic. It is currently authorized through May 7, 2021.

See if you qualify 

You may qualify to get meals from Great Plates if you:

  • Are age 65 or older, are 60-64 and have been diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19, or are considered high risk by the CDC
  • Live by yourself or with one other program-eligible adult
  • Are not currently receiving assistance from other state or federal nutrition assistance programs, like CalFresh/SNAP or Meals on Wheels
  • Have difficulty accessing food or preparing your own meals
  • Earn 600% or less of the federal poverty limit
  • Live within a county or city participating in the program 

Sign up for delivery

Contact a Great Plates administrator in your city or county and ask about free home delivered meals for seniors.

More details about receiving meals are available in the participant FAQ.

How to provide meals

If you’d like to supply meals or help administer the Great Plates program, review this information and submit your request.

After reading, you can request to volunteer or provide meals.

Other meal delivery options

  • For home delivered meals from Meals on Wheels, call  1-800-510-2020.
  • To apply for the CalFresh EBT Card (also known as food stamps), visit getcalfresh.org.

Living in senior facilities

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities continue to be severely affected by outbreaks of coronavirus. Rules on visits to residents help reduce the disease’s impact on residents and staff. 

Read what you can do to protect and connect with your loved ones in senior living.

State guidance for senior living

Keeping residents safe

Report abuse

COVID-19 statistics

Facility information

To find out what steps a senior living facility is taking to protect residents and staff, contact them or check their website. 

Find details about specific facilities through Nursing Home Compare, provided by Medicare.gov.

See and file complaints about a facility through CDSS’s Care Facility Search.

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