Karen Ehrens, U.S. Policy Manager, Alliance to End Hunger
The Older Americans Act turns 60 this week, and there is so much to celebrate! Since 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) has provided our nation’s seniors with programs and services to help them enjoy healthy and fruitful lives. Services provided through the legislation include nutrition support through meals delivered to homes or in group settings, nutrition counseling and education, preventing elder fraud and abuse, preventing injuries through falls prevention programs, helping people manage chronic diseases like diabetes or arthritis, and empowering people to age in their own homes. Services and programs reach our elders by way of state and area agencies and delivered through nearly 20,000 service providers including tribal organizations, according to the Administration for Community Living.
As a volunteer for many years, I have made time to deliver meals to people who get around with the help of wheelchairs and walkers, people who are undergoing chemotherapy cancer treatments, people breathing with the help of oxygen tanks, people with bruises and bandages, widows and widowers, frail couples caring for one another, and so many others. As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, this experience allowed me to see firsthand how these home-delivered meals, sometimes known as “Meals on Wheels,” provide nutritious meals and nourishment. The nourishment is provided not only by the food, but also through the volunteers who knock on the door, share a smile, connect, and keep a lookout for the well-being of people. Sometimes, the volunteer meal-deliverer is the only human contact a person has in a day.
Senior hunger is sometimes overlooked, but it is serious and likely increasing across the nation. According to Meals on Wheels America – a long-time Alliance to End Hunger member – 13 million seniors regularly worry about having enough to eat, including 20 percent of older adults in rural areas. As with other aspects of food insecurity and poverty, the black senior population is more than twice as likely to face food insecurity as their white peers. As grocery prices continue to be stubbornly high, healthcare costs continue to grow, and a recently passed law that will reduce the number of people who have access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP), seniors in our communities will continue to feel the stresses of finding enough resources to afford nutritious food, housing, healthcare, and other basic needs. Meals for seniors in group settings and home-delivered meals made possible through the OAA are crucial to helping people access enough healthy food every day.
The population of the United States is getting older. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly half of counties in the United States have more older adults than children. Among the overall population, the percentage of our nation’s population under the age of 18 shrank by 0.2 percent while those 65 and older grew by over 3 percent. The contrast between younger and older populations is especially evident in more rural areas. The OAA becomes even more important as the number of Americans over the age of 65 continues to grow.
Through the OAA, resources are made available to organizations who plan and prepare meals. Many of the community-based meal services providers rely on volunteers to deliver meals to neighbors, who may be seniors or people with disabilities. Nutritious food delivered to people, who may not be able to prepare meals for themselves or move around easily, help them remain independent and living in their own homes, where they prefer to be.
Meals on Wheels America reports that 251 million meals are delivered to more than 2 million seniors annually. Over 80 percent of seniors receiving these meals say that the meals help them eat healthier, with over 90 percent stating that the meals help them to live independently. Yet one in three Meals on Wheels providers has a wait list, with seniors waiting an average of four months to receive meals!
As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of OAA and all that it has accomplished, this is also a good time to get involved within your own community. Churches, schools, assisted living communities, service organizations, city governments, and more have ways for community members to serve our populations of older adults. Meals on Wheels America has easy ways to connect you with opportunities to get involved in delivering meals to your neighbors. Further, groups like AARP Foundation and the National Council on Aging have great resources to help you learn more about the issues facing our nation’s seniors, as well as how to help.
The best way to celebrate OAA’s 60th anniversary is to pick up the phone, call your Member of Congress, and tell them to support and strengthen OAA programs that help improve the lives and livelihoods of our nation’s seniors. The Older Americans Act is regularly reauthorized in Congress, but has not been since 2020 and is past due for its review and passage. The clock is ticking. Meals on Wheels America has a great, easy way for you to show your support to you elected officials.
The food and nutrition supported through the Older Americans Act is well worth celebrating. I cherish the fact that these programs exist, and that I have been able to serve community members through food, conversations, and smiles. As the OAA turns 60, let’s continue to fight for the resources it brings to our elders all across our nation.
