Report examines complex issue of senior hunger
Hawaiʻi is home to more than 300,000 people age 60 and older. Our kūpuna deserve dignity and respect in their golden years. However, every day, thousands of Hawaiʻi’s kūpuna remain uncertain of where their next meal will come from.
The issue of senior hunger is complex, and is often a symptom of deeper flaws in the structure of our economy, our society, and of our food systems themselves. To effectively address the problem, policymakers need to place the issue of senior hunger into a more holistic framework—one that understands the interplay between public health, economic justice and social capital.
In a new report, Hawaiʻi Appleseed examines the issue of senior hunger: why it exists, who is at risk, and what we can do about it. The report examines solutions in three main areas, each of which correspond with a tenet of food security:
Access to resources;
Health and nutrition; and
Community resilience.
Under “access to resources,” the report presents an overview of the tools—many of them federal safety net programs–that are available to alleviate the problem here in Hawaiʻi. Even as stand-alone solutions, these tools can add many healthy years to the lifespan of our seniors, while reducing the societal cost of healthcare expenditures. They are organized into two different delivery models:
Nutrition benefits programs, which operate similar to cash, as they can be used for food purchases at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, or other retail outlets; and
Prepared meal programs, which address related and underlying issues that exacerbate food insecurity in our senior population, such as social isolation or health and access issues.
In the section on “health and nutrition,” the report explores how healthcare institutions can move toward a “food as medicine” approach to healthcare. Food security is a major social determinant of health, and as evidence mounts for ensuring healthy food access for all, these institutions are starting to take note and invest in upstream solutions.
The third pillar, “community resilience,” advocates for a food-systems oriented approach to alleviating food insecurity. The report explores the emerging concept of “community based food systems,” which have the potential to keep federal dollars circulating in local economies, create jobs, and build a sense of community pride and cohesion. Seniors play a significant role in building these systems.
The report includes actions Hawaiʻi can take to address senior hunger in all three of these areas. Service providers and policymakers should work to maximize federal program dollars in the quest to build a food system that connects food producers to consumers, thereby improving the freshness of the ingredients available to low income seniors while keeping capital circulating in Hawaiʻi’s agricultural sector.
As a state, we should harness these tools to ensure our kūpuna have opportunities to stay connected with their communities. With better coordination, and by better leveraging available resources, we can strengthen our hunger safety net and minimize the number of seniors in Hawaiʻi that experience food insecurity.
