(MintPress)— One out of seven senior citizens in America, or more than 8 million people, faced the threat of hunger in 2010. And, one in five, or 16 million American children are at risk of hunger today.
Some experts say that the federal government isn’t doing enough to alleviate the problem, while others warn that cutting funding for governmental programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) currently in place to tackle the issue will hurt millions.
Statistics on seniors and hunger
From 2001 to 2010, the number of seniors experiencing the threat of hunger has increased by 78 percent, according to a new study released this week from the Meals On Wheels organization, a nonprofit group delivering meals to those who are homebound.
Since the onset of the recession in 2007 -2010, the number of seniors experiencing the threat of hunger has increased by 34 percent, the study titled “Senior Hunger Report Card” found. The report gave America an “F” for its overall performance in tackling the issue.
“That seniors in our country are going without enough food due to economic constraints is a serious problem in-and-of-itself,” the authors of the study, James P. Ziliak of the University of Kentucky and Craig Gundersen of the University of Illinois, wrote.
Failing our seniors
“There is no question that we are failing our seniors, some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Enid A. Borden, Chief Executive Officer of the Meals On Wheels Research Foundation, in a statement. “The numbers spell out our failure with clarity, and at the same time they call us to action. No one in this, the richest nation on Earth, should face the threat of hunger, no one. And seniors, who have little power to change their circumstances, deserve our special attention.”
Seniors who resided in the South and Southwestern U.S. faced the greatest threat.
The report said that of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the three states with the highest rates of seniors facing the threat of hunger include Mississippi with 21.53 percent, New Mexico with 21.24 percent and Arkansas with 19.42 percent of the state’s senior population facing hunger.
Overall the threat of hunger for seniors increased in 44 states since 2007, rising two percentage points.
Also, minorities, people who were divorced or separated, the disabled and seniors age 60 to 69, as opposed to those over age 75 faced greater risks.
Ziliak said he was surprised by the findings of the study, as there was a “bit of a recovery” in the senior population facing hunger between 2009 and 2010 as would be expected with the waning of the recession, however he had expected it “to return to pre-recession levels, but instead it got worse,” he said in an interview with Mint Press.
“The recession has been a difficult time for all Americans. The challenge seniors face is not being able to stretch dollars,” he pointed out, adding that no substantial increase in social security income for many seniors who depend on it was also a contributing factor in why so many seniors are facing hunger.
He also said that many seniors went to work during the recession but some were eventually displaced stemming from massive layoffs across the United States or “weren’t making a lot.”
At the same time, product prices went up for food in the U.S. causing many seniors to “feel squeezed,” he said.
“Overall we need to have stronger economic growth,” Ziliak said.
“More directly, from a policy perspective the study reveals that there is a need to focus more on this population,” increasing funding to the Older Americans Act and finding a way to get more seniors enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), which provides financial assistance for food purchasing to low- and no-income people and families.
A recent study by the Agriculture Department found that enrollment in program grew exponentially during the recession and immediately after, rising by 45 percent from January of 2009 to January of this year.
The same study also found that SNAP reduced child poverty by over 20 percent.
Ziliak said that seniors tend to enroll in the SNAP program at a lower rate than younger people.
More kids facing hunger too
Senior citizens aren’t the only demographic facing hunger. Experts say that American children are also being exposed to the issue at alarming rates.
“In a few short weeks, 21 million children will face hunger head-on for their summer vacation, without the benefit of their school lunches and/or breakfasts to alleviate the pain in their stomachs and the depression of their young spirits. That’s one in four children,” wrote Kim Doyle Willie, advocate and activist on behalf of the unemployed, hungry, homeless in a recent article published by the Huffington Post.
Nearly half of SNAP recipients are children.
While she rebuked Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget will cut over 8 million participants from SNAP in 2013, she is skeptical that government alone will be able to solve the problem, writing “It has become obvious that compassion, common sense and a strong moral compass are lacking in these leaders and that solutions have to start within our own communities. They aren’t coming from D.C. anytime soon.”
House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan’s budget plan includes cuts in SNAP of $133.5 billion — more than 17 percent — over the next ten years (2013-2022).
More than 16 million, or almost one in five, American children are at risk of hunger, according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a national organization which works for public and private policies to eradicate domestic hunger and undernutrition.
And, during the 2009-2010 school year, 20 million children received free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program, but only 2.3 million children received meals during the summer months of 2009 through the Summer Food Service Program.
Only 14 percent of households with children served by Feeding America participate in the Summer Feeding Program.
Willie said, “Though there are summer feeding programs through Feeding America and Share Our Strength, an SOS representative I spoke with yesterday believes the projections are the same as seen last summer, with only 3.2 million children getting fed a daily meal, (between all organizations). That means almost 18 million children won’t know where their next meal is coming from after school lets out.”
Willie urges Americans, “It’s time to ask your schools what’s being done to feed the children this summer. Talk to your local food pantries, churches, youth groups, service organizations, social services, health and human services and whoever you feel could be a worthwhile soldier in the fight to get our children fed this summer!”
The big picture
So what do these findings mean for America as a whole?
“What it means is that we have got a long way to go before we have tackled the challenges of poverty and food hardships,” Ziliak said.
“Some would argue that the federal response to the recession wasn’t strong enough,” he continued, saying that “pulling back funding for these programs is not the solution because there will be a lot of people that face hardships.”