Nutrition education and access to healthy food for low-income aging adults

Our efforts address two key issues affecting the State of California: nutrition insecurity and a steeply growing aging population at or below poverty level. In California, the elderly population in expected to grow more than twice as fast as the total population with an overall increase of 112 percent between 1990 to 2020. Unfortunately, this also means an increase in low-income elderly adults. The California Deparment of Aging administers nutrition services funded by the federal Older Amercicans Act, serving CA residents 60 years of age or older, with prefrence given to those in greatest economic or social need and to low-income, multi-ethnic individuals. According to Title III C-1 and Title III C-2, meals must meet nutritional standards by providing a minimum of 1/3 of recommended dietary allowance (RDA). A big problem is that many seniors are unaware of how to access meal services or that they may qualify for CalFresh benefits, which would help them with their weekly groceries. Even once groceries are bought, many aging seniors have little to no knowledge about how to eat healthy on a budget. There is a wealth of evidence linking obesity with lower socio economic groups and linking food insecurity with poorer diets. We see a huge need for nutrition education specifically targeting the low-income aging population and any organizations working with this population. Seniors have different dietary needs than other adults, and having access to healthy meals is key in prevention of diseases and maintenance of healthy during the golden years.