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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. (2)
Seniors require greater consideration towards their
health and medical needs that can become compromised when there is not enough
food to eat. A study which examined the health and nutritional status of seniors
found that food insecure seniors had significantly lower intakes of vital nutrients
in their diets when compared to their food secure counterparts. In addition,
food insecure seniors were 2.33 times more likely to report fair/poor health
status and had higher nutritional risk. (2)
- Elderly households are much less likely to
receive food stamps than non-elderly households,
even when expected benefits are roughly the same (1)
- 1/3 of national emergency food service recipient
households included at least one senior citizen (1)
- In 2002, 1.6 million American seniors participated
in the Federal food stamp program. This is only
1/3 of the amount of seniors that were eligible.
The reason for low participants rates include:
long complicated forms, lack of transportation
options, and the lack of information about programs
available. (1)
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