Congregate Nutrition Services have long been a pillar of public health assistance, championing the independence and community engagement of older Americans. The advent of COVID-19, however, restricted access to these services due to the closure of physical locations. In response, Lanakila Meals on Wheels initiated a virtual congregate meal program, Kūpuna U, in collaboration with community partners in Honolulu County. The program combined grab-and-go or home-delivered meals with virtual and in-person classes to improve both nutrition and socialization for older adults. This study aimed to capture participant feedback to assess and enhance the Kūpuna U program, developing it as a flexible and scalable congregate meal solution applicable nationwide. Five focus group discussions were conducted with program participants (n = 34). The majority of participants were female (74%), Asian (73%), and living alone (56%). Participants found the program beneficial, enhancing their nutrition, social engagement, and learning experiences on various topics tailored for older adults. Supportive staff played a crucial role in motivating participants to stay engaged. Participants also identified potential enhancements to the program, including more activities and courses, expanded hours, additional in-person options at various locations, and culturally tailored meals.

The Congregate Nutrition Services support efforts to keep older Americans independent and engaged in their communities. We examined participants\' self-reported reasons for initially attending the congregate meals program and whether reasons differed by participant characteristics. Descriptive statistics and tests of differences were used to compare participants (n = 1,072). Individuals attended congregate meals for several reasons, with the top two being socialization (36.3%) and age- or health-related reasons (18.7%). Those attending for socialization were less likely to be lower income, have food insecurity, or live with 3+ ADL limitations while participants who first attended due to age or health-related reasons were more likely to be low income, food insecure, and from historically marginalized populations. Health and social service professionals and community organizations could expand data collection on older adults in their communities and partner with congregate meal providers to encourage participation for individuals with unmet nutritional, health, and socialization needs.