Providing meals for our seniors is not so easy. Efforts have been made to serve meals in apartment complexes for the elderly or at the local senior center. However, many seniors don’t have access to either. Many are isolated in their homes. They may not be able to find or afford transportation to the local senior center. There may be a lack of knowledge about the programs that exist or how to qualify.
How serious is the problem in Arkansas? Arkansas ranked #1 in the nation for the previous four years for seniors facing the threat of hunger. It now ranks #5, which translates to that almost 20% of all Arkansas seniors over the age of 60 are food insecure or are close to being so.
Helping Your Elderly Neighbors
So, how can we help end hunger in Arkansas? Of course, money is always appreciated. Organizations like the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance can use the money you donate and buy directly from suppliers. Eliminating the middleman means your dollar goes three times as far. If you have the time to volunteer, consider working at the food pantry or helping seniors fill out the applications for assistance.
If you prefer more direct assistance, how about picking watermelons from the farm fields? One of the food projects is the Arkansas Gleaning Project. Gleaning is the process of hand-picking the food that is left in the field after the farm equipment is finished. Some of the farmers who participate in this project actually plant extra for the gleaners to recover. These can be crops like corn or zucchini, or there are some orchards that participate in the recovery of their fruit. Watermelon picking has become an event for the volunteers, and now it includes music and watermelon games!
If you have a farm, the Arkansas Beef Project involves the processing of a donated cow or bull in a USDA-approved facility into one-pound ground beef packages that are then distributed at local food pantries. They also accept donated calves that are raised by participating farmers and ranchers for the Beef Project.
Introducing Nutritious Inexpensive Food
If you love to cook or like to shop, volunteer for Cooking Matters or Cooking Matters at the Store. This program teaches participants how to prepare nutritious meals on a budget. The Cooking Matters at the Store program takes participants on a field trip to the grocery store, where they learn about how to read labels, when to buy the store brand vs. name brand products, and how to choose fresh fruits and vegetables. The goal is to leave the store knowing how to get the most nutritious food at the lowest cost.
Know Your Elderly Neighbors
On a more personal level, be aware of who lives in your neighborhood. If you know there is a senior who is living near you, and especially if you never see anyone visiting them, get to know them. They could be without any family caregiver or even an elderly home care staff member to check on them.
Be a friendly neighbor who stops by to share when you have more tomatoes in your garden than you can use. Bring over a couple of muffins or cookies when you bake. Maybe you could offer to take your senior neighbor to the grocery store or church when you are going anyway. You could offer a ride to the senior center while you run errands in that neighborhood. These little gestures will help to establish a relationship with your senior neighbor and, eventually, you will be able to determine if they have a family support system or if they need some extra assistance.
Get your other neighbors to join you in including your senior neighbors into the community. They probably have lived in this same house for a long time and know the history of the neighborhood. Their existence in the neighborhood deserves to be recognized and even celebrated!]]>