The National Center for Nutrition Leadership (the Center)

"There is hunger in America not because of a lack of food, but because of a lack of leadership.”

While local MOWAA Member programs have been and continue to be critical lifelines to the seniors they serve, what worked in the past will not be sufficient to meet the needs of the present and future. The landscape is radically changing, and the challenges programs face are daunting. Economic pressures are limiting their purchasing power and constraining their growth at the same time that the demand for services continues to increase at an unprecedented rate. Since the first Baby Boomer came “of age” in January 2008, someone turns 60 every 7 seconds in the United States. And the old-old, those aged 85 and above, are the fastest growing age cohort of the U.S. population.

That is why MOWAA established the National Center for Nutrition Leadership (the Center). The Center is the venue and the vehicle through which MOWAA can provide customized educational and professional development opportunities to equip Senior Nutrition Programs with the specific skills and tools they need to carry out their mission.

Specifically, the Center regularly offers a series of continuing education courses, leading to a Certificate, and presented by some of the best faculty in the field. The five subject areas in which Certificates are offered correspond to the five key areas of Senior Nutrition Program operation:
• Leadership
• Nutrition
• Development and Fundraising
• Volunteer Management
• Communications

MOWAA Member programs have expressed a strong desire to participate in these Certificate Programs but many are prevented from doing so because of the lack of financial resources to devote to the learning and networking opportunities and sharing of “best practices” that the Center offers. Without support in the form of scholarships and travel stipends—what we are calling Sustainability Education Grants-- many Members, particularly those who have the most to gain from the Center, simply cannot afford to attend. It is MOWAA’s vision that Sustainability Education Grants ultimately will be available to any and every MOWAA Member who desires to participate in the Certificate Programs and other educational opportunities. . .”so no senior goes hungry.”®