Since 1974, Meals on Wheels America has hosted an annual conference of senior nutrition program leaders, advocates and partners from across the country dedicated to the mission of improving the health and well-being of older adults.

From Aug. 25-28, Aging and Human Services Director Tim Wholf, and Dyani Kallauner, Nutrition Program manager, traveled to San Antonio to attend the 2025 national conference.

The conference’s central themes were building program resilience, leveraging collective influence and expanding capacity to serve more seniors amid rising demand and constrained resources.

The agenda included pre-conference workshops, learning labs and intensive sessions on topics such as hospital partnerships, outcome measurement and strategic planning.

Over multiple days, there were concurrent learning tracks on topics that reinforced the critical role our nutrition programs play in addressing malnutrition and social isolation.

There was a special culinary experience hosted at San Antonio’s Meals on Wheels 44,000-square-foot facility where they prepare and distribute more than 8,000 meals daily to seniors throughout South-Central Texas.

While at the conference, Kallauner and Wholf were able to interact with other staff from Kansas nutrition programs, as well as staff from KC Shepherd’s Center. The conference underscored the need for collaboration, innovation and advocacy to sustain and scale programs.

The Meals on Wheels network delivers 251 million meals annually to more than 2 million older adults nationwide. In 2024, AHS’s Home-Delivered Meals program provided 233,400 meals to 1,307 homebound Johnson County residents and 151,300 meals to 5,185 older adults through its congregate meal programs.

The information gained by Kallauner and Wholf from industry experts will enhance future initiatives and provide opportunity for collaboration to improve our services in the year ahead and beyond.