PITTSBURGH — Staff at the South Hills Salvation Army work hard to make people feel welcome at its weekly food pantry.

The week before Thanksgiving, Theresa, 85, enjoyed the joyful atmosphere as she met up with friends and sipped refreshments.

The spunky Pittsburgh native couldn’t wait to grab a block of yellow cheese, which she planned to melt and mix into macaroni. The cheese comes with a package of nonperishable food items packaged at the Community Food Bank of Greater Pittsburgh as part of the Senior Food Box program.

The initiative, jointly funded by the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides low-income seniors with a monthly supply that includes pasta, juice, cereal and a variety of canned foods. To qualify, a person must be at least 60 years old and have an annual income no more than 130% of the federal poverty level, which equates to less than $20,000 for an individual.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture told Spotlight PA that 18 food banks distribute these boxes to nearly 40,000 people each month, although some 343,000 Pennsylvanians are eligible for the program. That number will increase to 645,000 when the state increases the income cap by about $3,000 next spring.

“We’re really excited about this,” said Colleen Young, director of government affairs for the Pittsburgh Food Bank.

Young explained that the boxes are intended for seniors who could use other government programs and still struggle to access nutritious food. A healthy diet is crucial for managing chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension, which are more common in people 65 and older.

Theresa said she signed up for a senior box in 2023, the same year she started shopping at the pantry. She had difficulty affording the protein shakes prescribed to her by a dietitian at her dialysis clinic. At the time, she mainly ate hot dogs and ground meat, which she could afford. Thanks to her improved diet, she now feels healthier and has more energy.

Spotlight PA is only using Theresa’s first name because she doesn’t want her neighbors to know she relies on public support to eat. The basics provided by the senior lodges mean she doesn’t have to choose between buying food and getting enough protein.

“Otherwise I couldn’t do it. I really wouldn’t. Because I just live on Social Security,” Theresa said.

According to the USDA, in 2023, some 18 million households nationwide faced food insecurity, defined as not having reliable access to nutritious food of sufficient quality. As a result, people may skip meals, eat less than they need, or consume unhealthy foods that cost less but lack nutrients.

Cindy Leung, an assistant professor of public health at Harvard, said children’s struggles with food insecurity get much more attention from researchers than the challenges faced by older adults. One of Leung’s recent studies found that between 1999 and 2003, 12.5 percent of households with elderly people experienced at least one instance of food insecurity. When the survey was repeated between 2015 and 2019, the rate jumped to 23.1%.

For older adults, barriers to healthy meals can include physical limitations that make it difficult to cook or access groceries, Leung said. AARP Pennsylvania told Spotlight PA that these challenges are compounded by rising food costs and the fact that many retirees are on fixed incomes.

In addition to senior food boxes, other forms of public support, such as SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), fight hunger. But as the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging explains, seniors may find the registration process confusing. Others might be reluctant to seek help due to stigma or embarrassment.

Back at the South Hills Salvation Army, Theresa placed the box in her trunk, then returned inside to a large room buzzing with caffeinated chatter. Volunteers and staff had set up a makeshift market stocked thanks to the food bank and donations from restaurants and grocers.

Theresa gathered an array of foods while browsing the impressive selection: frozen vegetables, eggs, a prepared salad, a vanilla cupcake, fresh produce, Italian sausage and six bagels flavored with cinnamon and grapes.

The Pittsburgh Food Bank prefers that seniors pick up their boxes in person at distribution sites, such as the Salvation Army. This creates opportunities to connect low-income adults to other services such as SNAP or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides grants to subsidize Pennsylvanians’ heating bills.

Another benefit of a face-to-face pickup is that it is social. The USDA reports that older adults who live alone are more likely to experience food insecurity, and a 2024 study found that food insecurity is “significantly associated” with isolation and loneliness.

Isolation is also a risk factor for the development of dementia, the neurological disease that affects nearly one in 10 Americans over the age of 65. A recent publication by Leung found that the same is true for food insecurity: the likelihood of dementia is doubled among older people who lack food. nutrition.

“Probably one of their biggest concerns is being able to preserve their cognitive functions as they age,” Leung said.

Other studies have also found a correlation between food insecurity and cognitive decline. Although this research does not prove that a poor diet causes dementia, Leung said there is a clear link, even after taking into account factors such as education level and income.

This overlap of cognitive health, loneliness, and eating makes sense because eating is more than nourishment. It’s cultural, emotional, and often how we show people we care.

Theresa felt that connection when Salvation Army staff gave her a surprise: They had about two dozen expensive protein shakes set aside for her.

Her voice faltered as she looked at the crate of white bottles. “It makes you want to cry.”

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