Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Walmart stores, even those is more remote locations, carry a full line of organics.
It's been about two years since I was in this particular location so I don't know now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe
I gotta say harumph to "quality food." How do you define that?
If you have a budget grocer, a mainstream grocer and a Walmart, why can't you find something worth eating?
And if you're thinking everything has to be organic, etc., you should look up what farmers can spray on your veggies and still use the label "organic." You'll probably decide to just eat the cheap stuff like me.
Lean meat - I remember the budget grocer there only carried 73/27 and 80/20 chubs of ground beef for instance. That's not very lean nor healthy.
Fresh produce and different varieties of produce. None of these locations had the selection or quality (produce always looked old and past its prime) of grocery stores in better areas.
The end caps were stocked with even more soda, chips, and other foods that weren't very nutritious compared to where I lived.
Sorry, I'm not even going to read the blog. I am a very low income senior, and not only can I get a lot of free food at food banks, and cheap food cooked for me at the senior center, and when I get older (not quite old enough yet) I will also qualify for free meals brought to me, and there are also free brown bag lunches. This doesn't even count all of the churches and other charities that would be happy to provide free food.
AND decent food is cheap. I happen to love ramen and beans and rice. But, I can also buy meat on sale and stick it in the crock pot, etc.
So, from my point of view, it's ridiculous to think that any senior in America is going hungry, unless they are spending all of their money on their medical marijuana and/or cigarettes, or gambling (which can be a problem) or going to the bar, etc. And even then, if they can get to a phone, they will be able to get free food.
There are way too many resources out there that we qualify for. Just call 211. Or go to 211.org.
While I am THRILLED to hear you have access to these kinds of resources, you need to understand that there are lots of factors that keep many elderly from accessing them....some live very rural, some have no transportation or perhaps can not drive, some have no one SHARING this info with them for what is available to them, and LOTS don't use computers/have internet access. Of course, as us boomers age, that last one will probably mean a more informed group as we age (we google everything, right?), but I live in a 55+ community and there are lots of neighbors that don't even have an internet access, not because they can not afford it, but because they have no interest. So many of them NEVER used internet for anything and don't see a need for it.
While I am THRILLED to hear you have access to these kinds of resources, you need to understand that there are lots of factors that keep many elderly from accessing them....some live very rural, some have no transportation or perhaps can not drive, some have no one SHARING this info with them for what is available to them, and LOTS don't use computers/have internet access. Of course, as us boomers age, that last one will probably mean a more informed group as we age (we google everything, right?), but I live in a 55+ community and there are lots of neighbors that don't even have an internet access, not because they can not afford it, but because they have no interest. So many of them NEVER used internet for anything and don't see a need for it.
Well, really, come on. Let's all admit that if someone lives in the middle of nowhere, and has no income, and no food stored, no ability to grow any food, no way to get to a store, or a phone, or any form of transportation, or the ability to walk, or to tell anyone they are hungry, or are unwilling to say they need help, with nobody ever checking on them - yes, those people might go hungry even in America.
While I don't believe the media hype of the hidden epidemic of senior (elder) hunger, I have no doubt that there are many seniors living below the poverty line and may go hungry at time or have poor diet leading to all kinds of health problems
I did a search for the statistics and found several national studies
In 2013, 2.9 million (9%) households with seniors experienced food insecurity. 1.1 million (9%) households composed of seniors living alone experienced food insecurity.[iii]
In 2012, 5.3 million Americans over the age of 60 were food insecure. This constitutes 9 percent of all seniors.[iv]
Food insecure seniors are at increased risk for chronic health conditions, even when controlling for other factors such as income[v]:
60 percent more likely to experience depression
53 percent more likely to report a heart attack
52 percent more likely to develop asthma
40 percent more likely to report an experience of congestive heart failure
What surprises me is this prediction:
Quote:
The number of food insecure seniors is projected to increase by 50% when the youngest of the Baby Boom Generation reaches age 60 in 2025.
This article gives the reason why the food insecurity is more serious for seniors
Quote:
For seniors, protecting oneself from food insecurity and hunger is more difficult than for the general population. For example, a study that focused on the experience of food insecurity among the elderly population found that food insecure seniors sometimes had enough money to purchase food but did not have the resources to access or prepare food due to lack of transportation, functional limitations, or health problems
Here is the link to an in-depth study of the subject
The study shows increasing trends in the risks: risk of senior hunger goes from ~5% in 2001 to ~6% in 2011 and the number at risk goes from ~3% in 2001 to ~5% in 2011
The State-Level Estimates of Risk of Hunger (Food Insecurity) of Senior in 2011 vary quite a bit from state to state with the lowest in Maryland at 3.71% and the highest of 11.82% in Kansas.
I expect further breakdowns within each state will show that small rural towns have much higher rates than urban areas or big cities.
'Dave' is doing fine. He did get his SNAP determination and his benefits went down to $149 per month. Plus he can go to the Jewish, Catholic, and USDA food pantries one time a month, each. 'Dave' has learned to work the system. He has to.
I don't doubt there are hungry seniors out there. Mostly because they own property or are ashamed to apply for benefits. Or they are not mobile enough to go to these places and carry the groceries home. If you are going to be really poor, rent. Owning property(even a miserable dump) usually means you will not be approved for benefits. Holding on to that home is not always the best strategy.
I think the folks who really need help are the ones who can't get to the food pantry!
'Dave' is doing fine. He did get his SNAP determination and his benefits went down to $149 per month. Plus he can go to the Jewish, Catholic, and USDA food pantries one time a month, each. 'Dave' has learned to work the system. He has to.
I don't doubt there are hungry seniors out there. Mostly because they own property or are ashamed to apply for benefits. Or they are not mobile enough to go to these places and carry the groceries home. If you are going to be really poor, rent. Owning property(even a miserable dump) usually means you will not be approved for benefits. Holding on to that home is not always the best strategy.
I think the folks who really need help are the ones who can't get to the food pantry!
While if I needed benefits, I'd take them, I think it's a sad state of affairs when the expectation is people use benefits to get basic food.
Interesting that the methodology used to determine most of the statistics cited is not specified. Color me skeptical, not skeptical that hungry seniors exist, but that they exist in the numbers and percentages claimed.
Also, it is possible that Oklahoma (the state which the article is about) presents a different picture from the national picture. Nationally, seniors (as a group) are better off financially than any other age demographic. Now that statistic doesn't help the ones who are in fact hungry, of course.
The article is an advocacy essay, and to its credit does not make any claim to be a neutral investigation of hunger among seniors in the state of Oklahoma.
I heard people in middle age are the most well off.
Lot
If seniors have little income.
But what do I know, I'm just 28.
By the way OP
Thanks for posting.
Any able-bodied person can keep their food costs very low. Eggs and legumes are both a very inexpensive source of protein. I've never had a problem finding boneless chicken thighs and pork loin for $2.00/pound. The issue is that you need to be able to freeze things and you need to be able to cook them yourself. If you're at poverty level, you might not have access to housing with refrigeration/freezer and cooking facilities. You might be living somewhere that you don't have access to markets that carry that list of inexpensive survival foods at reasonable prices. Even worse, you may have begun the slide into dementia or have become disabled to the point where you can't shop and you can't cook.
For able-bodied people, yeah. I agree with some of what has been said here. Engage enough in your life to learn to buy the right kinds of foods at the right prices and prepare them yourself. That's what the rest of us do when we hit a time where we're short on money. That doesn't solve the problem for people not in that category. That's what the safety net is supposed to be for if there isn't family around to pick up the slack.
20 or 30 years from now, this is going to be a huge problem as the population ages. The median boomer didn't save very well for their retirement. Most will make the foolish decision to start collecting Social Security at age 62 and receive a very small pension. We're going to have hundreds of thousands of people at poverty level sliding into dementia who resist asking for help and then become too incapacitated to fend for themselves.
Well, in some states they are at least looking at limiting what can be purchased with SNAP money.
I assume that alcohol and tobacco products are already disallowed?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
