Some Iowa seniors don’t always have access to food

There’s good news, and there is bad news for Iowa’s elderly.

The good news is that, when compared with other states, Iowa has a low percentage of senior citizens who are food insecure. The bad news is that at least four percent of all elderly Iowans do not always have access to food.

States shaded in darker blue have the highest rates of food insecurity among senior Americans, 2001-2007. Overall, Iowa ranks 41st with roughly 4 percent of the state's elderly population at risk for food insecurity.

The situation is one that Tim Getty, nutrition and health promotions program coordinator for The Heritage Agency, knows all too well. His organization is one of 13 area agencies on aging in the state, created in the early 1970s as a part of the Older Americans Act, and is responsible for planning and services to a seven-county region in eastern Iowa that includes Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Cedar, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington counties. The Heritage Agency is an actual department within Kirkwood Community College, one of only two such collaborative programs in the nation, and offers individualized education and training as well as funding to several community-based organizations within its service area.

Information provided within a recent state-by-state report on hunger risk is bittersweet, Getty said.

“Overall, of course, I was pleased that Iowa’s percentage is low [in contrast to some other states] — but even having 1 percent of our elderly population at risk of hunger is too much,” he said.

Each day in Cedar Rapids proper, community-based organizations aided by The Heritage Agency provide 775 meals to Iowa seniors. The national report, which was sponsored by the Meals on Wheels Association of America, indicates that roughly four percent of 583,374 elderly Iowans, or 23,335 individuals throughout the state, aren’t always so fortunate. In addition, while African Americans comprise a mere 5.93 percent of the state’s total elderly population, they amount to 17.76 percent of the segment most apt to be food insecure.

“The figures have historically fluctuated,” Getty said, “but over the past two years there has been a steady increase in the number of seniors being served by meals programs.”

While situations like the historic 2008 floods in eastern Iowa and the current economic recession have definitely resulted in additional risks to already vulnerable individuals, hunger risk for elderly populations were found across traditional socio-economic boundaries identified by federal poverty levels.

“As our 2008 report documented, low income is but one of many determinants of hunger risk,” wrote study co-authors Dr. James P. Ziliak, of the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Craig Gundersen, of the University of Illinois (formerly of Iowa State University).

The researchers discovered that the most food insecure seniors in the nation resided in southern states, and further scrutiny of that particular population produced certain demographic characteristics that are associated with a greater likelihood of food insecurity. For instance, being African American, Hispanic, poor, a younger senior citizen, disabled, unemployed, caring for a grandchild or a high school drop out were all additional risk factors identified within the populations most at risk for hunger.

Based solely on the percentage of Iowa’s at-risk elderly population, the single most determining factor for food insecurity is care of a grandchild, with roughly 24 percent of those at risk doing so either with or without the child’s parent being present. Other prominent risk characteristics for Iowa include a disability (18.27 percent), being African American (17.76 percent), being divorced or separated from a spouse (15.17 percent), renting living space (13.45 percent) or never being married (11.41 percent).

In contrast with national statistics that show rural residents more apt to be at risk than urban residents, Iowa’s rural elderly are significantly less likely to be at risk for hunger.

“Rural residents in Iowa tend to take care of their own,” Getty agreed. “We tend to make sure our neighbors are okay and take care of them.”

But that actually brings up the most pressing aspects of Iowa’s relatively low hunger risk for the elderly population: growth and stability. According to a national profile of older Americans published by the U.S. Administration on Aging, Iowa is among the top nine states in the country for per capita percentage of residents age 65 and above. Although the overall growth of the older population was slowed during the 1990s because of the relatively small number of babies born during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the older population nationally, and in Iowa, is expected to burgeon between 2010 and 2030 when the “baby boom” generation reaches age 65.

The population 65 and over will increase from 35 million in 2000 to 40 million in 2010 (a 15 percent increase) and then to 55 million in 2020 (a 36 percent increase for that decade). By 2030, there will be about 72.1 million older persons, almost twice their number in 2007.

Just like local food banks, which are being heavily impacted by the economic downturn, Iowa’s food programs for the elderly are also in need of helping hands and donations. According to Getty, the community-based programs that The Heritage Agency serves need “everything” — donations, cooks, drivers and a host of other volunteers.

“One of the biggest things we can do is just draw attention to these programs,” Getty said. “Of course, funding is always needed — there are budget cuts and other realities that we all understand — but reports like this really help to bring awareness so there can be an open discussion within the community. That way everyone knows that this is a problem, and that there are agencies that are trying to combat it, and then individuals can possibly donate or volunteer.”

Readers in the seven-county area served by The Heritage Agency can contact Getty if they are interested in learning more. Those who reside in other Iowa counties should contact the agency on aging that serves their specific region.