End Senior Hunger in Georgia

By Deborah Britt and Jeffrey Smythe


For the second time, Georgia has been ranked among the top 10 states for senior hunger — a dubious distinction for a state that typically considers a top 10 ranking a good thing.

This disturbing news comes from “Senior Hunger in America 2010: An Annual Report,” a research study prepared by respected economists Dr. James P. Ziliak and Dr. Craig Gundersen and issued in May by The Meals On Wheels Research Foundation.

As of 2010 (the latest year for which data is available), more than 17 percent of Georgia’s seniors faced the threat of hunger — an increase from 14.8 percent in 2007 and well above the current national average of 14.85 percent. That put Georgia seventh among the Top 10.

Nationally, 8.3 million seniors were threatened by hunger, an increase of 78 percent from 2001 to 2010. Notably, six of the Top 10 are in the South: Mississippi (No. 1), Tennessee (No. 5), Alabama (No. 6), Georgia (No. 7), South Carolina (No. 8), and Florida (No. 9) — a shocking reality that the entire region needs to recognize.

Georgia’s ranking reflects the increased demand that we are experiencing for services such as Meals On Wheels.

In Atlanta, we’re seeing the largest waiting list we’ve ever experienced, while south of the city, Fayette County is home to one of the fastest-growing senior populations in Atlanta.

There’s no question that we can do better, and we must. Part of the challenge is a refusal to acknowledge that there is a problem.

As a society, we do not like to think about the fact that our parents and grandparents, the very people who raised us, might be going without a meal — much less many meals. But it happens every day, and if programs such as Meals On Wheels were not there to provide seniors with nutritious meals, many of them simply would not eat.

It’s often assumed that hunger is a problem limited to the poor — but that is not the case. This latest research shows that the majority of seniors facing the threat of hunger have incomes one to two times the poverty level. Too many of them are forced to make the choice between buying medications or a meal.

Our own senior nutrition programs are struggling to keep pace with demand, and costs are rising. Food prices have risen 6 percent nationally in the past year, and rising gas prices are an added burden — especially for Meals On Wheels programs that depend on volunteers to deliver the meals.

Given this stark reality, one might reasonably ask how a solution can be found.

Fortunately, the cure for senior hunger exists. In the richest nation on the planet we have an abundance of food. We have an abundance of ingenuity, generosity and compassion. We also have an existing infrastructure for delivering that food.

What we need now is to recognize that the problem is growing and take action.

Georgia owes it to its senior citizens to end senior hunger for good.

Deborah Britt is president and CEO for Fayette Senior Services. Jeffrey Smythe is executive director for Meals On Wheels Atlanta.
This editorial originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on July 27, 2012.

Meals On Wheels Assoc. of America Unveils "We Are Meals On Wheels"

At MOWAA’s 2011 Annual Conference in Chicago, the national organization unveiled “We Are Meals On Wheels.” The goal of We are Meals On Wheels is to elevate senior hunger as a solvable issue in America and to invite individuals from across all walks of life to take part in our movement and end senior hunger by 2020.

Did you know?

More than 6 million seniors in America today are facing the threat of hunger, because they are not getting the nutritious meals they need. We know senior hunger is a serious problem. We know that it must be stopped. And we know that there is something that we can do about it.

We are working every day to put an end to senior hunger by delivering nutritious meals and providing compassion to seniors in communities across this land.

Food for Thought

According to the Atlanta Regional Commission (2011), access to fresh food decreases with income. This means that our lower-income neighborhoods have less access to the healthier foods needed to successfully age-in-place. Access to fast food was much greater than access to fresh food for both low and very low income subpopulations.

What does this mean for Senior Citizen Services? Our meals and wellness initiatives will continue to be vital for seniors who have low or very low incomes. Under the leadership of our Director of Operations Jerrell Saddler and Meals On Wheels Atlanta Manager Jamell Hamm, our pantry program “Mobile Meals Pantry” is supplementing canned goods with fresh fruits and vegetables. That means that the seniors who benefit from our pantry collaboration with Visiting Nurse Health System, Open Hand and The Atlanta Community Food Bank are now receiving fresh fruit and vegetables as well!

This also means that further brainstorming and partnering will be needed going forward to ensure that our nutrition via Meals On Wheels Atlanta gets to the right seniors when they really need it.

More than “being there” for our seniors, I believe that our education approach via our Neighborhood Senior Centers will be more and more critical as well. Rather than forcing education on our seniors, we utilize proven tools like Stanford’s Chronic Disease Self Management classes and Arthritis Self Management Classes. We also connect amazing providers like our fitness instructor with our seniors—this was our top ranked program of any senior center programs per our last survey.

I am more confident than ever that SCS can make a difference for lower-income seniors who do not have enough access they need to age-in-place successfully. I am also confident that SCS can convene other partners within the transportation arena to enable better access as well.

-- by Jeff Smythe, Executive Director