You know the feeling: you’re hungry and think about eating something. And if you can’t get to food right away, the hunger begins to gnaw at you, making it difficult to concentrate or even causing you to feel a bit faint or fatigued. But do you know what real, ongoing hunger is like? The kind that means you never have enough to eat and are always “food insecure?” For millions of older adults, daily life is just that- not enough food and uncertainty regarding how, if at all, to change the situation. According to a new article in Kaiser Health News, 8% of older adults lack sufficient food, a number that has doubled since 2001. It’s a shameful statistic, especially acute in places such as the American South and Southwest. For example, it’s estimated that 17% of older adults in Memphis lack access to sufficient food. The causes of senior hunger are multiple: From poverty to poorly understood assistance programs, to inadequate funding of existing programs to physical ailments that mean food cannot be accessed or prepared. 

So, where are the sources of support for malnourished seniors? Many philanthropies that focus on hunger aim their programs at child hunger. There are community Meals-on-Wheels programs across the county, but many of them are themselves lacking sufficient funds, so that waitlists to access their food deliveries are often long, leaving thousands of seniors in need. In fact, over the years, The Nutrition Program of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which provides government funding for Meals-on-Wheels programs as well as community food programs, has not kept up with rising senior populations and growing food needs, so much so that funding for the program has dropped by nearly $21 million since 2005. There is also the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), (formerly called “food stamps”), that can be effective in fighting senior hunger, yet only 45% of seniors who would be eligible for this assistance are enrolled in the program.

How can you respond to this inexcusable situation? First up is the need for Congress to re-authorize the Older Americans Act this month and to provide for appropriate increases in expenditures to better fund Meals-on-Wheels and other vital programs. Re-authorization is uncertain, but it’s critical for funding senior hunger programs as well as a range of other services supported by the OAA. Take a look at this advocacy memo about re-authorization from the National Council on Aging, and call your congressional representatives to advocate for this important act.

You can also read more about sources of support for seniors in need of food by clicking here and here. The one thing we all must do is to make sure this shameful problem of senior hunger is no longer hidden in the shadows or left unaddressed.