More Older Americans Eating at Soup Kitchens for the Holidays

By Alejandra Owens, December 23, 2009 10:36 AM

Not everyone will eat heartily this holiday season...
MSNBC covered a sad reality that's growing in soup kitchens and food pantries across the country - more and more older folks looking for food resources. Just to give you an idea: the number of older Americans living alone who seek help from food pantries in the U.S. increased 81 percent to 408,000 in 2008. Says the article:

"Older people also have the added disappointment of no cost-of-living increase in Social Security checks this year. 'Seniors were hit with the decline in the stock market,' said Mark Dunlea, executive director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State. 'It's unsettling when you lose a lot of your investment.' The New York City Coalition Against Hunger released a report on the city's soup kitchens and food pantries that found that 68 percent of responding agencies were seeing an increase in senior citizens. Hunger Solutions Minnesota said this month that food-shelf visits from older people increased 26 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2008."

But with an increase in the need for help comes an increase in volunteers there to help. Check out AARP's Create the Good to find ways you can give back during the holidays.

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