Seniors and Food Insecurity

ARDC clients shopping at SECORCares in Parker!

Nourish meals being delivered to older adults!

Help and Hope setting up their mobile market in Larkspur!

September is National Hunger Awareness Month.  Did you know that senior citizens are the fastest-growing segment of food-insecure adults in the United States?  According to Feeding America, 1 in 14 older adults face food insecurity in the United States.  Additionally... 

• In 2021, 5.5 million seniors aged 60+ faced hunger.
• Hunger takes a severe toll on seniors' health and nutrition - putting them at risk for chronic health conditions like depression, asthma, heart disease, and diabetes. 

Older adults are often on a fixed income with little wiggle room for things like the rising cost of groceries, medical prescriptions, and increased rent or homeownership costs.  This is something we hear over and over from the Aging Resources clients we serve!  Thankfully we’re able to partner with several organizations whose mission is centered around addressing the needs of the food insecure.

Nourish Meals on Wheels is a non-profit located in Arapahoe County that provides fresh, hot, and nutritious meals to housebound older adults. Many seniors aren’t able to cook for themselves due to mobility issues, vision, or lack of access to groceries.  At Nourish, meals are prepared daily and delivered directly to seniors by volunteers.  As a community partner of Aging Resources, we distribute approximately 300 meals from Nourish to older adults throughout Douglas County.  Seniors love these meals!  Said one ARDC client,

“Thank you so much.  The meals have saved my life because I can't cook due to my vision.”

Another wonderful community partner of ARDC is SECORCares.  This free food market located in Parker, offers free groceries to those struggling with food insecurity.  Guests can shop their market (similar to a grocery store) for free and receive a week's worth of groceries (perishables and non).  Aging Resources coordinates group grocery trips for older adults to shop at SECORCares which provides that extra assistance to make ends meet.

The Help and Hope Center in Castle Rock is another wonderful community partner working to meet the needs of food insecure seniors.  This organization has been providing monthly mobile food markets to rural older adults in Larkspur.  Many of these folks don’t have access to get to the grocery store, so Help and Hope meets them directly where they’re at.  Each month they provide a mini mobile store where seniors can shop for produce, perishables, non-perishables, dairy, and meats… all in Larkspur!

Working to address food insecurity truly is a group effort and we’re grateful to have so many wonderful community partners to collaborate with to help ensure older adults have easy access to food!

Author

Amy Pfister - Community Engagement Coordinator