What are the factors that affect elderly meal planning?

Most elderly people live on a fixed income so how much is spent on food should be considered when preparing meals for the elderly.

Other things that need to be taken into consideration are: portion sizes (not purchasing large quantities of food such as fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, etc) because some may spoil before they are used.

Sometimes their taste buds are affected because of health status or medications and so they may not eat on a regular basis all the time.

The choices of foods should reflect any difficulties in chewing or swallowing, and avoid foods that are harder to digest.