No matter where you live in America, there is a Meals On Wheels program near you. If you are unfamiliar with this charity and its importance, then this might help to answer some of your questions. Elderly people are a group that is different from most other age groups. The population of Americans who qualify to retire is rising, as are the number of people in that group who are unable to leave their homes due to infirmity, illness, or other issues.
Seniors in your community can be from any walk of life. They can be any race, religion, or creed. Some of them may even be former military. For whatever reason, whether from an injury or illness, at least some of those in this category cannot shop for themselves or prepare their own meals. For these individuals, Meals On Wheels and other similar programs were established many years ago specifically to care for this community.
As such, they deliver meals to home-bound seniors, and they also provide companionship. The delivery people are volunteers who want to help brighten the day of elderly residents in their community who may have no other visitors on any kind of regular basis. The level of loneliness and depression in senior citizens has been increasing in recent years. So being visited by volunteers once each day is very helpful to these persons. Everyone needs to know they are cared for, and when people don’t receive visits from friends or family members, they can become quite lonely.
For those who are home-bound, this is an even bigger problem. Unlike their elderly counterparts who are able to go to the grocery store or, if they are on a low fixed income, the food pantry or senior center, they may not see anyone else for long stretches of time. Even to be visited once a day can be help these people to have an elevated mood, which in turn can improve their health.
It should be noted that none of these programs are designed to fulfill all of the daily dietary needs of elderly patients who are enrolled in it. While the recommended number of times a person should eat each day is three meals, this organization and others like it deliver one meal per day. So they would still need to get groceries for themselves.
However, in this day of post-Covid ease of online shopping, it is easier than ever for even an elderly person to learn how to get groceries delivered. This is, of course, assuming that they are able to afford to purchase them.
Unfortunately, many of our elderly residents are living in poverty. The level among these populations is higher than among the general population of younger people. According to the National Council on Aging more than 17 million seniors live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. You might think that is a lot, but the FPL has not been increased in many years, and it is not state specific. This means that in a place where the cost of living is lower, such as in some of the Midwestern states such as Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, the federal poverty line would probably be accurate. However, in a place like New York City, where the cost of living is much higher, persons with income this low would be more likely to be homeless, staying with relatives, or on the verge of homelessness. According to US New and World Report, Arkansas ranks 1st in the nation for most affordable state, but 47th overall for economic opportunity, mobility, and other important factors. For economics alone, it ranks 40th in the country, which means it has lower wages than all but ten of the other states, where employment, growth, and the business environment all contribute to these rankings.
This is also not to say that living in those states with lower cost of living would be helpful to anyone who is low income, because such states usually also have very low economic opportunity, which means their wages are lower. In New York City, the minimum wage is higher, but even that amount of income does not go very far. And when people reach a certain age, they are supposed to retire, regardless of their savings or whether they are able to do so comfortably.
Some people who are older become unable to work anyway due to illness or disability, and many of them have no relatives to depend on for their care. In such situations, when they do still live at home, Meals on Wheels and other programs can be a lifesaver for them. Especially because, for qualified seniors, it is a pay-what-you-can type of charity. So, it is suggested that everyone pay about $3 or so per day, but if they cannot afford it, they are able to still get the food without payment. Other patrons who can afford it are often paying more, to help it balance out.
Programs like Meals on Wheels, along with other grassroots charitable organizations, are important to keep members of our society functioning. Every day, friendly volunteers deliver meals to seniors who are home-bound, helping them to feel cared for. For people with elderly relatives that aren’t able to provide care for them, this can be incredibly beneficial. Centers where aging adults can go to meet with others, for those who are able to leave their homes, can also assist this population in keeping their mood up and conquering depression.
When you have older adults in your life, it is super important to keep in touch with them. You may not realize how important that essential human contact is for an older person, mostly because most younger people are so busy that they cannot conceive of never seeing anyone for a whole week or more. If you have relatives in your lief that you care about, make sure they are getting the care that they need. They can’t always ask for help, but being empathetic and listening are great ways for you to come to understand what they do need. Forgetting about the older adults in your life does not help them, and it takes so little to spread a little joy to them and make them remember that they are not forgotten.
Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash