Covid Created a Food Security Issue for the Elderly — And It Reminded Us to Care

With vaccinations rolling out across the country, the end of the pandemic for elderly Americans is in sight. Food insecurity for the most vulnerable seniors, however, is not. And if we’ve learned anything from Covid, it’s this — seniors need continued care and support from their local communities.

While Covid posed the greatest threat to the elderly, it also cast a much-needed spotlight on a forgotten population of people that made us, for one, rethink the way we do things. Beyond the pandemic’s immediate health impact, Covid put the elderly at greater risk of poverty and isolation, leading to hunger and malnutrition. And it wasn’t until the food community’s efforts to feed this forgotten population of people cast a much-needed spotlight on the issue that the rest of society finally started to notice.

Many in the food industry who survived solely off of newly coordinated feeding programs helped redirect attention to low-income seniors who benefited immensely from thoughtful meals prepared and delivered with care.

For millions of low-income seniors, coronavirus created a food-security crisis that highlighted a seemingly forgotten issue.

The scale of economic insecurity among older adults went unnoticed before the pandemic hit. Before Covid, millions had already had trouble affording food, and lockdowns and restrictions only exacerbated the issue.

While staying at home and social distancing was necessary to help limit the spread of the virus, it also kept millions of seniors from accessing group meals at senior centers or food banks — putting them in danger of malnutrition and hunger. It quickly became evident that millions could not afford to stock up on food or supplies, and — even if they could — many need assistance to and from stores.

Shortly after the onset of the crisis, funding and a wide range of short-term and long-term policies at the local, state, and federal level were introduced to ease the disproportionate risks facing food-insecure older adults. Solutions included shifting senior center meals and food banks to a delivery model and creating awareness campaigns about food assistance and emergency aid programs.

A number of organizations and businesses, including Off the Grid, stepped in to help coordinate new relief efforts with people and businesses in need. It was inn building and scaling these programs — after many hours of conversations with stakeholders, business owners and the recipients themselves — it became evident that how we were feeding seniors in this new crisis model was entirely new — and profoundly impactful.

Before Covid, feeding programs missed a key ingredient: humanity.

Against the backdrop of age discrimination and disparities in social protection and healthcare, elders are often not treated with the dignity they deserve. Where that showed up in many feeding programs was highlighted in things like considering dietary preferences, comprehensive outreach communication and support, or options for delivery.

Feeding programs, like our partnership with Great Plates, helped change how vulnerable low-income seniors got food. That is healthy, fresh, and actually delicious food that takes into account their dietary and cultural preferences. It’s food that more than nourishes the body — it humanizes the person on the receiving end.

While measuring the impact of good food made with care that considers the individual and is from local food purveyors might be hard, it’s clear as day to see. All you have to do is talk to the recipients of these feeding programs. And many of them, who have been isolated for months, would love to talk.

Now, our biggest challenge as a society is to develop long-term solutions for improving the food security of older adults, including streamlining multiple benefits programs, creating long-term funding for these programs, and considering ways of making grocery and food delivery affordable and accessible.

Increasing access to healthy, nutritious food made with care for seniors will not only help maintain and improve their well-being, but it will also save lives — in the current crisis and beyond.

To get learn more or get involved with Off the Grid’s relief efforts, please contact us here.