Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 86.djvu/131

 86 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 92-258-MAR. 22, 1972

89

Many elderly persons do not eat adequately because (1) they cannot afford to do so; (2) they lack the skills to select and prepare nourishing and well-balanced meals; (3) they have limited mooility which may impair their capacity to shop and cook for themselves; and (4) they have feelings of rejection and loneliness which obliterate the incentive necessary to prepare and eat a meal alone. These and other physiological, psychological, social, and economic changes that occur with aging result in a pattern of living, which causes malnutrition and further physical and mental deterioration. " (b) I n addition to the food stamp program, commodity distribution systems and old-age income benefits, there is an acute need for a national policy which provides older Americans, particularly those with low incomes, with low cost, nutritionally sound meals served in strategically located centers such as schools, churches, community centers, senior citizen centers, and other public or private nonprofit institutions where they can obtain other social and rehabilitative services. Besides promoting better health among the older segment of our population through improved nutrition, such a program would reduce the isolation of old age, offering older Americans an opportunity to live their remaining years in dignity. a ADMINISTRATION

"SEC. 702. (a) In order to effectively carry out the purposes of this ^ ^EW secretary, duties. title, the Secretary shall— "(1) administer the program through the Administration on Aging; and "(2) consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and make full utilization of the Food and Nutrition Service, and other existing services of the Department of Agriculture. " (b) I n carrying out the provisions of this title, the Secretary is °'^*lJ^f^I^^ authorized to request the technical assistance and cooperation of the agencies, coop"" Department of Labor, the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and such other departments and agencies of the Federal Government as may be appropriate. "(c) The Secretary is authorized to use, with their consent, the services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of Federal and other agencies with or without reimbursement and on a similar basis to cooperate with other public and private agencies and instrumentalities in the use of services, equipment, personnel, and facilities.

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