Empowering Seniors: A Call for More Senior Feeding Sites in Florida

One of the most basic rights a person can have is the right to healthy food. Whether that person is 60 days old or 60 years old, everyone has the right to eat. Three FIU College students, Nicolas Alvarez, Keith Jaramillo, and Pia Cevallos, collected data about senior feeding sites across the state of Florida.

Senior Feeding Sites, according to Feeding South Florida, an organization located in South Florida whose main goal is to end hunger in South Florida, says that 1 in every 12 seniors in the United States receives food assistance. On top of this shocking fact, Feeding South Florida claims that over 100,000 older adults don’t know where they will get their next meal.

So, what is a Senior Feeding Site? A Senior Feeding Site is a place or program where seniors with low income, lack of transportation, and increased healthcare needs can access a healthy food lifestyle. According to the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Miami-Dade Catholic Senior Centers provide hot, nutritious meals daily for seniors over the age of 60 who live independently in their homes.

But organizations like this are swooping the state, as many senior feeding sites are opening in the state. According to the data collected by these college students, Miami-Dade County has the most senior feeding sites with 72 currently open and operating. On the other hand, counties like Dixie, Taylor, and Flagler only have 1 senior feeding site in the entire county. There is a problem that seniors are not getting the proper nutrients in order to live a healthy lifestyle after retirement. However, Miami-Dade County has the largest population of seniors aged 60 or above with an estimated 590,253 people. But Flagler County for example has an estimated 45 seniors over the age of 60. So proportionally speaking, Flagler County only needs one Senior Feeding Site since there is not a large population in that county. So even though there are enough Senior Feeding Sites in smaller counties like Flagler, Dixie, and Taylor, there are still enough seniors getting the proper nutrition.

But counties like Collier don’t have enough Senior Feeding Sites for the estimated senior population. According to the data these students collected from the US Census, there are around 146 seniors over the age of 60 in Collier County and only 4 Senior Feeding Sites across the entire county.

Nicolas Alvarez, Keith Jaramillo, and Pia Cevallos agree on the fact that each county should build more Senior Feeding Sites. Miami-Dade County for example is the largest county in the state by population, but only has 72 total Senior Feeding Sites. Ultimately, their goal is to spread awareness of the lack of Senior Feeding Sites across the country due to the lack of resources and health education for elders, but for now, they are starting in their home state.