Can someone bring meals to my house if I can't get out?

What this means

• Being homebound is judged by whether cooking and shopping are hard for you, not by whether you are bedbound. Difficulty walking, poor vision, or no transportation all count.
• A short visit or phone assessment comes first. Someone asks how you manage meals, then meals typically start within one to three weeks.
• The driver is also a safety check. In many programs, if you do not answer the door they follow up, which matters if you live alone.

What to do first

1. Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 and ask for home-delivered meals from your Area Agency on Aging. This is the one call that starts it.
2. During the assessment, be plain about the hard parts: standing at the stove, carrying groceries, days you skip meals. This determines your priority.
3. Ask about special diets — low salt, diabetic, soft food — and about weekend or frozen meal packs.
4. If there is a waiting list, ask to be added and ask which pantry delivers in the meantime.

What you'll need

• Your address and any gate or entry instructions
• A list of medical conditions or diets that affect your food
• An emergency contact name and number
• Your doctor's name, since some programs ask for it

Where to go

• Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or https://eldercare.acl.gov/Public/Index.aspx — they connect you to the local agency that runs meal delivery.
• If you are on a Medicaid home and community based services waiver, your case manager can add meal delivery to your care plan.