Food Bank emphasizes senior hunger in May

Volunteer Bessie Mitchell loads a vehicle recently at the Senior Mobile Unit site at the Benton County Senior Activity and Wellness Center, 3501 SE L St., Bentonville.

For 86-year-old Bentonville resident Louise, the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank’s monthly visit from the Senior Mobile Unit helps meet her daily food needs. It’s hard for her to get around and she doesn’t get out much, she explains as she pushes her walker back to her apartment after receiving her food box at the Benton County Senior Activity and Wellness Center, 3501 SE L St., Bentonville, AR. The Food Bank is raising funds in May to bring awareness to senior hunger through its Faces of Hunger Senior Campaign. “The Food Bank is raising awareness to ensure those seniors with food insecurity don’t go hunger,” said Mike Williams, director of development. Those wishing to make a contribution can go to nwafoodbank.org to learn more about donating, he said.

The boxes include such items as canned vegetables, canned meat, snack food, cereal bars, macaroni and cheese and cereal. "The boxes are meant as a supplement to the grocery needs of the seniors who participate," said Trina Wilson, volunteer and senior mobile coordinator.

During the visit to the Bentonville Center, Wilson also distributed frozen chicken, turkey, cheese and blueberries to those who qualified for USDA benefits. The frozen foods are brought to the distribution sites in a new refrigerated van donated by Tyson Foods.“We are so thankful to receive frozen foods, because it makes more of a meal than what we provide in the boxes,” said Wilson.

The monthly visits are an opportunity to ask if seniors are receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and then provide information on how to get on the program, if they aren’t, Wilson said. According to Feeding America, 2.9 million households with seniors age 65 and older experienced food insecurity in 2015. More than 1.2 million households composed of seniors living alone experienced food insecurity.

The number of food insecure seniors is projected to increase by 50 percent when the youngest of the Baby Boomers reaches age 60 in 2025, according to Feeding America. Food insecure seniors also are at an increased risk of chronic health conditions, such as depression, heart attack, asthma and congestive heart failure.

Betty Perkins, director of the Bentonville Center, said the center has seen an increase in the number of seniors taking advantage of the free breakfast being offered at the center. The breakfast started about three months ago and is offered in addition to lunch.There are between 50 to 60 seniors coming for breakfast and more on mornings when the Senior Mobile Unit comes, she said. The center asks for a donation for the meals. Some participants can do that and some can’t, she said. Meals on Wheels, which operates out of the center, serves approximately 160 meals a day to mostly seniors who are food insecure. Some seniors don’t have anything in their refrigerators and don’t have a lot of money for anything extra, Perkins said. They are living from Social Security check to Social Security check. “We appreciate the Food Bank,” Perkins said of the Senior Mobile program. “It’s like a day after Thanksgiving and they get these special deals.”

The boxes are preassembled at the Food Bank’s warehouse on June Self Drive in Lowell. Wilson said she is looking for volunteers to help. For more information, contact her at trina.wilson@nwafoodbank.org.

Currently, the Senior Mobile Unit is at the following locations and times:

Fayetteville, first Thursday, Wedington Place Apartments, 3130 Telluride Drive, 8 to 9:15 a.m.

Bentonville, second Thursday, Benton County Senior Activity and Wellness Center, 3501 SE L St., 8 to 9:15 a.m.

Bella Vista, second Thursday, Fire Station No. 1, Town Center West, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Elkins, third Thursday, Community Center, 162 Doolin Drive, 8 to 9:15 a.m.

Huntsville, third Thursday, Senior Center, 903 N. College, 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Siloam Springs, fourth Thursday, Senior Activity Center, 750 Heritage Court, 8 to 9:15 a.m.

Lowell, fourth Thursday, Senior Activity Center, 704 E, Monroe, noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank serves more than 160 food pantries and agencies in a four-county area – Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington.