An estimated 44.2 million Americans live in households that lack access to an affordable, nutritious diet and the only Democrat who challenged US Senator Bob Menendez in the 2018 Democratic primary election says those hungry citizens should use their votes to demand more equitable distribution of wealth in this country.
“New research reveals that nearly 12 million adults aged 50 and over experienced food insecurity in 2022, highlighting that 1 in 11 seniors aged 60 and older and 1 in 8 older adults aged 50 to 59 in the United States faced hunger last year,” said progressive Democrat Lisa McCormick.
Food insecurity, defined as limited access to sufficient food for a healthy lifestyle, continues to affect these age groups significantly.
Poor nutrition is a leading cause of illness in the United States, associated with more than half a million deaths per year. It is linked with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease as well as broader impacts including higher health care costs and decreased productivity.
In 2022, 6.9 million out of 79 million seniors in the U.S. were food insecure, alongside 4.9 million out of 41 million older adults, according to Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the U.S., operating a network of over 200 food banks and 60,000 partner agencies.
“This amounts to nearly 12 million older adults grappling to meet their basic nutritional needs in addition to 12 million children struggling with hunger in America,” said McCormick, an advocate for responsible citizenship whose grassroots campaign spent less than $5000 but garnered nearly 40 percent of the vote against Menendez in June 2018.
“Food insecurity is closely tied to health, which becomes especially critical as we age. Addressing food insecurity among seniors would help reduce chronic health conditions and result in healthier communities overall,” said Linda Nageotte, Feeding America’s president and chief operating officer. “With the aging population in America growing each year, we must work together to ensure seniors have access to the food they need to thrive.”
Millions of American children are going without extra food in 13 states, all of which have Republican governors, that declined to participate in a federal program that helps families in need buy groceries. Nebraska initially rejected the program but later reversed course.
Thirty-seven states, four U.S. territories and five Native American tribes are benefitting from the program, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Qualifying families with children who rely on school meals to get enough to eat are getting an extra $120 per child this summer to help feed their kids. About 10 million eligible children live in states that turned down the funding.
Feeding America’s estimates indicate a 25% increase in food insecurity among seniors and older adults from the previous year. This rise aligns with broader increases in food insecurity across various populations in 2022, influenced by the expiration of pandemic-era programs and high food prices.
Seniors, often living on limited fixed incomes, are particularly affected by these price increases, making federal nutrition programs vital for their access to food.
Nageotte emphasized the importance of fully funding programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. She also advocated for improving access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by streamlining eligibility and enrollment through a bipartisan Farm Bill.
McCormick said these policies mark a clear difference between Democrats and Republicans, who have cut taxes on the richest Americans and reduced aid for the poorest working families in the United States.
“Voters should certainly get involved in primary elections to challenge corporate Democrats who are addicted to big donations from American oligarchs,” said McCormick. “At the same time, citizens must never get snookered by con artist conservatives in the Republican Party who are still peddling lies about trickle-down economics. Americans must rise to the responsibility of citizenship!”
The research also highlights that seniors and older adults of color face disproportionately higher rates of food insecurity compared to their white counterparts. In 2022, Black and Latino seniors experienced food insecurity at rates 2.7 times higher than white seniors, while rates for Black and Latino older adults were twice as high. Other racial and ethnic groups, including Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and some Asian subgroups, also have high rates of food insecurity, though detailed estimates for these groups were not included.
Key findings from the research include:
- Food insecurity among seniors and older adults is present in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
- Nine out of the ten states with the highest rates of food insecurity for seniors are in the South.
- Seniors and older adults with disabilities face even higher rates of food insecurity. Seniors with disabilities had food insecurity rates more than twice as high as those without disabilities, and older adults with disabilities had rates over three times as high.
This research was supported by the Enterprise Mobility Foundation through its Fill Your Tank program, a multi-year initiative aimed at addressing food insecurity globally.
In the past year, Feeding America provided 5.3 billion meals to millions in need, working to prevent food waste, improve food security, and advocate for policies that reduce hunger.
“Our political establishment occasionally treats hunger as an emergency, rather than a symptom of systemic inequities, but inequality and injustice are with us all the time although our response to them has failed to create government programs designed to the factors that produce them,” said McCormick, who is urging Americans to take responsibility.