Any Step Community Services

When you think of hunger, most people think of children.

However did you know that in just 6 years, there will be more people over the age of 60 than there are under the age of 18?

With the Baby Boomer population expected to rise significantly, the number of people facing hunger is projected to increase and issues such as malnutrition and the loss of autonomy are intensified.

And with it, we can expect a rise in OUR federal taxes because 14% of our taxes go to social services like food stamps and Medicaid.

The repercussions of malnutrition among older adults are substantial, costing the US healthcare system a staggering $51 billion annually (Alliance for Aging Research, 2022). The 2020 State of Senior Hunger by Feeding America reveals that a quarter of older adults in the nation are low-income individuals of color, with 37% in Dallas County living at or below the federal poverty line. Disturbingly, Black and Hispanic older adults are three to four times more likely to face food insecurity compared to their white counterparts (Feeding America, 2020).

July 2022's report by The Dallas Morning News unveils a stark reality—low-income older adults are seven times more likely to resort to food pantries. The Senior Hunger Community Assessment Report (2018) by the Senior Hunger Action Team reveals a substantial gap in food insecurity among older adults, with 73% of affected individuals being women or people of color.

Time Magazine's 2019 exposé, "The Elderly Problem in America is Growing," draws attention to malnutrition's role in compromising immunity to fatal and chronic diseases. Texas A&M Health's 2021 findings underline socioeconomic disparities as a root cause of malnutrition-related deaths, with areas in Texas having older adult households receiving SNAP benefits showing a reduced risk of malnutrition.