Monday, September 30, 2013
The Waiting Game: Food Insecurity for Older Adults
In the October 14 issue of The Nation, writer Trudy Lieberman's article on "The Real Hunger Games" describes the struggle of a 64 year-old widow for food:
"Perdue tried to get help from Meals on Wheels Atlanta. In mid-April of 2012, she was twenty-seventh on a waiting list of 120. In November, she was still on the list, which had grown to 198. Her daughter finally found another program.
Such is the world of food rationing for the elderly—the hidden hunger few ever see. Tenille Johnson, one of two case managers at Meals on Wheels Atlanta, said there were others on the list who were even more in need than Perdue. In 2012, the program served 106,000 meals—up from 84,000 three years before—and it will serve about 114,000 this year. “We’ve been able to up our game and reduce the waiting list to between 145 and 160 seniors, but the need has outpaced us,” says executive director Jeffrey Smythe. “The numbers are going up more quickly than we projected. We have waiting lists all over the metro Atlanta area, even in suburban counties.”
The Nation writer first reported on underfunding for programs assisting home-bound elderly in 1998. "Little has changed in the last fifteen years," she reports. Except, as her article demonstrates in detail, the need is greater, on a nation-wide basis.
"The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging says nearly 60 percent of all Older Americans Act programs had waiting lists in 2010, but the ones for home-delivered meals are particularly urgent, since food is so basic to good health."
Remember the Older Americans Act (OAA), first enacted in 1965? Meals on Wheels was once a core component of OAA's programming, and administered to the states through Area Agencies on Aging. Charities, churches and other nonprofits have not been able to cover the gap in funding. As discussed earlier on this Blog, Congress still has not reauthorized the OAA,and as Lieberman's article demonstrates, there are very real consequences to Congressional gridlock and Congress's failure to address even uncontroversial programs while rehashing party-politics on the Affordable Care Act.
Hat tip to Kevin Schock, Penn State Law, for spotting this timely article.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/elder_law/2013/09/the-waiting-game-for-food.html
