New York S 9198: Requires the provision of home-delivered meals to eligible homebound older adults on weekends and holidays; appropriation

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S09198 Summary:

BILL NOS09198 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORCLEARE

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §203, Eld L

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Directs the state office for the aging to establish a grant program for the provision of home-delivered meals to eligible homebound individuals on weekends and state-recognized holidays by eligible entities; requires a report; makes an appropriation therefore.

Go to top S09198 Actions:

BILL NOS09198 

&nbsp

02/13/2026REFERRED TO FINANCE

Go to topS09198 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS09198 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS09198 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 9198

 IN SENATE

 February 13, 2026
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

 AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to requiring the provision of
 home-delivered meals to eligible homebound older adults on weekends
 and holidays; to require the state office for the aging to deliver a
 report; and to make an appropriation therefor

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that
 2 many older New Yorkers depend on publicly supported home-delivered meal
 3 services as their primary source of daily nutrition, yet current federal
 4 and state rules only require that programs provide one meal a day five
 5 days a week, often do not operate on weekends and holidays, leading to
 6 gaps in food access, increased nutritional risk, and preventable hospi-
 7 talizations and institutionalization for frail, homebound older adults.
 8 It is therefore the intent of the legislature to ensure that eligible
 9 older adults receive access to at least one nutritious meal per day,
 10 including days that programs do not operate, such as weekends and state-
 11 recognized holidays, by directing the state office for the aging to
 12 establish and support year-round home-delivered meal services.
 13 § 2. Section 203 of the elder law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
 14 sion 13 to read as follows:
 15 13. (a) Within amounts appropriated therefor, the office shall estab-
 16 lish a grant program for the provision of home-delivered meals to eligi-
 17 ble homebound individuals on weekends and state-recognized holidays by
 18 eligible entities. The grant program shall be open to public or private
 19 nonprofit corporations, associations and local governmental entities
 20 with a priority given to those entities with a history of providing
 21 weekend meals programs.
 22 (b) The program established pursuant to this subdivision shall, to the
 23 extent practicable, be complimentary with existing weekday home-deliv-
 24 ered meal services established under the federal Older Americans Act of
 25 1965 and related state, local, and nonprofit programs, and shall be
 26 designed to ensure that each authorized older adult receives at least

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD14808-01-6

 S. 9198 2

 1 one home-delivered meal each day, seven days a week, three hundred
 2 sixty-five days a year.
 3 (c) Priority for services under this subdivision shall be given to
 4 individuals who are:
 5 (1) at least sixty years old; and
 6 (2) determined by an area agency on aging to be homebound due to
 7 illness, disability, or frailty.
 8 (d) Meals provided under this subdivision shall meet applicable feder-
 9 al and state nutrition and food safety standards, including, but not
 10 limited to, requirements established pursuant to the Older Americans Act
 11 of 1965 and any regulations or guidance issued by the office.
 12 (e) In order to ensure continuity of service and cost-effective deliv-
 13 ery, the office may authorize the use of frozen or chilled meals, shelf-
 14 stable meals, and other modes of advance delivery for days that programs
 15 do not operate, provided that such approaches safeguard the health and
 16 safety of participants.
 17 (f) The office shall award grants to public or private nonprofit
 18 corporations, associations and local governmental entities with