These Kentucky adults are most vulnerable to food insecurity in the U.S., study says
Despite being more at risk, contracting COVID-19 isn’t the only issue for older adults and senior citizens in Kentucky during the pandemic.
Kentucky residents age 50 to 59 are more vulnerable to food insecurity than any other state’s population of that age, according to two new studies released Thursday by Feeding America. Kentucky’s food insecurity rate among older adults was 17.3 percent in 2018, according to a study titled “Hunger Among Adults Age 50-59 in 2018.”
About 7 percent of Kentucky’s senior citizens were food insecure in 2018, according to a study titled “The State of Senior Hunger in America in 2018.” Food insecurity was even worse in Kentucky’s most-populated city, as Louisville’s food insecurity rate among senior citizens was 10.3 percent, according to the study.
“Even before COVID-19 struck, too many older adults and senior citizens in Kentucky were facing hunger after decades of hard work,” Feeding Kentucky Executive Director Tamara Sandberg said in a statement. “It is especially troubling to see so many Kentuckians aged 50-59 who are struggling ... instead of saving for their retirement years – a situation that we know has been exacerbated by the pandemic.”
Adults age 50 to 59 who have a disability and are out of the labor force are significantly more likely to face food insecurity than those who are working or retired, the study showed.
Kentucky residents 60 and older were just below the average rate of food insecurity for senior citizens nationwide, according to the study, but the high rate for adults age 50 to 59 significantly raised the state’s average for older adults.
Around 5.3 million seniors in America face food insecurity, according to Feeding America. Feeding America found that black and Hispanic senior citizens are more likely to face food insecurity than white and non-Hispanic seniors. Seniors with disabilities are also more than twice as likely to deal with food insecurity than those without, the study found.
Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said the organization is making “significant investments” to try to reduce that number.
The organization runs 200 food banks nationwide, according to a news release.
The Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation gave Feeding Kentucky a $35,000 grant to address Kentucky’s senior citizen food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.
“The current pandemic reveals that we must do more to creatively combat the troubling food insecurity that exists among our growing senior population,” Ashley Butler Novak, executive director of the foundation, said in a statement.
The money will be used to support delivery efforts to get food to senior citizens, according to a news release.
Food banks in the area experienced a swell in demand once businesses started closing in Kentucky. God’s Pantry Food Bank in Lexington reported a 35 percent increase in demand.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 7:42 AM.