Guest Commentary | Hidden crisis: Senior hunger in Southwest Florida
By RICHARD LeBER
Southwest Florida is often seen as a haven for retirees enjoying the rewards of successful careers. Yet beneath this image of affluence, many seniors are quietly struggling to make ends meet.
Not every senior is living the life of luxury. Many who devoted their careers to education, customer service, hospitality, the public sector and other admirable fields are having an increasingly difficult time keeping up with rising costs of food, housing, health care and transportation.
In a region where affluence is abundant, one in 12 Southwest Florida seniors is food insecure. These individuals never expected at this point in their lives to be experiencing hunger and needing help to put food on the table. The death of a spouse, underperforming investments, cuts in pensions and other unexpected financial situations present significant challenges to seniors on a fixed income.
The federal government’s Administration for Community Living recognizes May as Older Americans Month, a designation meant to reaffirm our commitment to serving older adults in the community. Part of that commitment is ensuring that in a region as prosperous as ours, no senior – and no child, veteran or parent, either – should ever go hungry.
Harry Chapin Food Bank is delivering on its commitment to ensuring no one in our community goes hungry. The nonprofit offers several programs specific to older populations:
• The Care and Share Senior Feeding Program supports 2,600 lower-income seniors in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties by providing pre-packaged food kits with easy-to-prepare meals and shelf-stable fruits, vegetables, proteins, cheeses and grains. When possible, the Food Bank supplements food kits with fresh produce and other perishable foods.
• The Federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program supports seniors in Hendry and Glades counties by supplementing their diets with nutritional foods that often are lacking in diets of lower-income, older individuals. Food is provided once a month in boxes through the USDA.
• Meals on Wheels is offered through our agency partners like Community Cooperative and relies on volunteers to deliver daily, nutritious meals to the homes of seniors who cannot regularly shop and cook for themselves. Recipients include seniors recovering from illness or surgery, as well as those who are disabled or chronically ill.
Many seniors are on a fixed income. Unfortunately, their expenses aren’t fixed… they are rising. Food costs for staples like proteins, vegetables, fruit and dairy products have skyrocketed in recent years.
We shouldn’t need a reminder, but Older Americans Month should be the trigger that sparks action. There are many ways we can help seniors:
• Volunteer: Be the difference in a senior’s life. Join us to pack and sort food donations or organize food drives in your neighborhood, workplace or community group. Your time can help restore dignity and hope.
• Donate: Fuel the mission. Every dollar you give helps provide nutritious meals and essential groceries to older adults struggling with food insecurity. Support Harry Chapin Food Bank, a local pantry or one of our dedicated agency partners committed to feeding Southwest Florida’s seniors.
We all know that children need balanced, nutritious meals full of vitamins and minerals to grow and thrive. Seniors need them too. Poor nutrition leads to poor health, no matter the age. We cannot let food insecurity impact one in 12 seniors when a solution is within reach.
Richard LeBer is president and CEO of Harry Chapin Food Bank, Southwest Florida’s largest hunger-relief nonprofit and the region’s only Feeding America partner food bank. Visit HarryChapinFoodBank.org for more information.