New York City Council
Subcommittee on Senior Centers and Food Insecurity
Chair, Council Member Mealy
Committee on Aging
Chair, Council Member Hudson
December 14, 2022
Oversight - Food Insecurity And Older Adult Centers
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
LiveOn NY’s members include more than 100 community-based nonprofits that provide core services which allow all New Yorkers to thrive in our communities as we age, including older adult centers, home-delivered meals, affordable senior housing, elder abuse prevention, caregiver support, NORCs, and case management. With our members, we work to make New York a better place to age.
Background
For many older New Yorkers, food insecurity remains a harsh reality of daily life. During COVID-19, food insecurity was deeply exacerbated by issues not only economic, but related to access as well, as seniors were advised to “stay home” to mitigate risk of contracting the virus. During this time, Older Adult Centers found new ways to provide critical services from setting up zoom classes to enrolling clients in emergency food systems, all in the face of unprecedented demand and a public health crisis.
Prior to the pandemic, many older adults relied on meals from the Older Adult Center for more than half of their daily nutritional intake. An estimated 21% of older adults living in New York City are facing poverty and too often older adults have to choose between paying their rent and buying food. For a growing diverse aging population, Older Adults Centers were a lifeline during the pandemic, particularly in response to the increased risk of food insecurity and rise in social isolation that plagued many older adults.
As we work to get older New Yorkers back out into the community, it’s clear Older Adult Centers are hubs for socialization, diverse programming, and other critical services. The City has the opportunity to create long term solutions and make meaningful investments to ensure all New Yorkers have access to equitable community-based services in their community. In response LiveOn NY recommends the following:
Recommendations
Firstly, we invite the City to utilize our aging policy agenda, Aging is Everyone’s Business, released by LiveOn NY in partnership with Hunter College Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, which is a bold policy agenda that provides actionable policy solutions, including food insecurity, to make New York a better, more equitable place to age.
Second, in order to address these challenges and created long-term solutions focused on New York City’ congregate and home delivered meals program, LiveOn NY recommends the City should:
Assess and allocate funding for the significant inflationary impacts on raw food, gas prices, and other infrastructure needs for contracts
Many of LiveOn NY’s members have raised their concern of the impact inflation cost for raw food, gas prices and other infrastructure items. For example, one of our members saw a 40% increase in raw food cost due to inflation this year. The unavoidable financial strain has created challenges for providers to continue to meet the growing capacity for home-delivered meals, in addition, providing congregate meals at Older Adult Centers.
Continue to support new models of service including grab-and-go meals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity among older adults was deeply exacerbated by issues not only economic, but related to access as older adults were required to “stay at home” to reduce the chances of contracting COVID-19. New models of service such as grab-and-go were critical and successful in ensuring, who may not be comfortable congregating due to COVID risks, or for personal reasons are less willing to meet their nutritional needs by eating at an Older Adult Center, have the option to take their meal home, a decision that ensures one’s nutritional needs can be met in the environment of one's choosing.
Work with Older Adult Centers to assess the utilization of congregate meals at Older Adult Centers as providers continue to adapt to the new normal.
It’s evident Older Adult Centers have returned to a new normal that has posed new challenges for in-person services and programming including congregate meals. Coupled with the growing concerns voiced by older adult participants such as public safety concerns, new mobility and cognitive challenges that may have arisen during the pandemic, lack of reliable transportation and other factors, illustrates a new reality for OACs and older adults. Nonetheless, LiveOn NY recognizes the importance of congregate meals to keep older adults fed as well as combat isolation through socialization at OACs and other services. In response to this DFTA must work with OACs to ensure we are addressing the new challenges for both older adults and providers.
Assess the demand for case management to ensure all clients can be screened for case management eligibility and receive this critical service should they be eligible.
Further, exacerbated by the long-term health impacts of isolation and other stressors experienced over the past year and a half, many meal recipients of home-delivered meals may require some level of case management to remain independent and safe in their communities. These waiting lists have required advocacy for additional funding each year, and indicate a need for early and significant upfront investments to avoid the continued cycle of recurring waiting lists.
Assess the demand for culturally competent meals for congregate and home-delivered meals
Almost 60% of New Yorkers 65 years or older, identify as a minority of an ethnic group, reflecting a significant need for meals that are culturally appropriate. The diversity of religious and health requirements - such as Kosher, Halaal, gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, or other consumer demands- also impacts the variety and associated cost of the meals providers must serve. The City must work to ensure older New Yorkers of all backgrounds and communities have access to culturally appropriate meals.
Additional recommendations outside of the congregate and home delivered meals portfolio to address food insecurity for older adults include:
Access to SNAP benefits for older adults
The under-enrollment rate of SNAP benefits is a major problem among older adults as well as other public benefits. Older adults face many barriers to utilize SNAP benefits including stigma, misconceptions about SNAP benefits, language barriers, and other obstacles. SNAP benefits help keep food on the table for New Yorkers including older adults. To respond to this, LiveOn NY recommends the City continues its strong outreach effort to ensure older adults know about and enroll in SNAP.
Develop and launch a centralized NYCFood Page to ensure all older adults can access food in their own neighborhoods.
We encourage the City to create a single, centralized, user-friendly NYCFood page that clearly lists all of the free or low cost-food options available to any individual. These options should range from older adult centers to pantry locations, to ensure all New Yorkers know how to access food in their neighborhoods at all times. Users should be able to filter by zip code, special status (like ‘senior’), hours of operation, and income limitations.
Pilot a Food Voucher Program for older adults
Pilot a food voucher program where older New Yorkers can sign up through older adult centers to get vouchers towards meals at participating restaurants. For example, Erie County, NY, has a similar program called “Go & Dine.” In addition, Visions, an NYC-based older adult center, also has a diner voucher program.
Increase public funding support for local food pantries
In addition to OACs, there are over 500 food pantries in New York City. Older adults heavily rely on food pantries as an additional resource to receive food and groceries in their neighborhoods, making up an estimated 27% of the New Yorkers who visit the City’s food banks. . To respond to this, LiveOn NY recommends the City to increase public funding support for food pantries so that they can keep up with the high demand for food and groceries.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.