Liz: What is “Eat Well to be Well”?

Amy: Eat Well to Be Well is a public awareness campaign targeting adults age 60+. The campaign was created by the Twin Cities Hunger Initiative, a community initiative that is striving to reduce and end hunger in the Twin Cities.

The campaign’s purpose is to inform seniors about the positive benefits of food stamps. The goals include:

• To educate the community about food support (food stamps).
• To dispel myths around food support.
• To increase access to information about the food support program.
• To increase participation, especially among the working poor and older adults.

Liz: Why are you specifically targeting older adults?

Amy: The economy has been rough on everyone, but older adults and retirees are caught in a tighter financial bind than most of us. The loss of investment wealth, rising costs of healthcare, housing costs and increased food costs all impact those on limited incomes drastically.

• 75,000 Minnesotans are age 60 and above and have incomes at or near poverty ($18,213/year for a family of two)
• The USDA finds that one in five low-income households with seniors report “food insecurity” or hunger: They do not have consistent access to enough food for active, healthy lives.

Better nutrition is a key to healthy aging. Maintaining one’s independence is critically important to older adults; research confirms independence is tied to mental and physical well-being. Poor nutrition, or skipping meals due to budget concerns, will derail independence.

Not eating enough healthy foods can result in increased frailty, more falls and broken bones, more illnesses, and more frequent and longer hospital visits. All of these mean reduced independence.

Liz: What are some of the most important foods for people—and older adults in particular—to eat?

Healthy foods as identified in the USDA food pyramid like grains, fruits, vegetables, meats, milk and beans.

Liz: What is SNAP?

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is a federal nutrition program. Minnesota refers to SNAP as “food support,” otherwise known as food stamps. Hunger Solutions Minnesota has started a Minnesota Food Help Line to determine eligibility for the food stamp program and to provide application assistance.

Liz: What resources are available for older people who are having a tough time making ends meet and sometimes end up choosing between their meds and a nutritious meal?

Amy: Older adults (and those caring for them) should be aware of food support available. Some myths exist about allowable income to qualify for the program, so it’s worth checking out. Older adults are the largest qualifying segment that underutilizes this benefit.

• In 2009, older adults (age 60+) who qualified for SNAP received an average of $111 in food support per month. This goes a long way toward purchasing healthy, nutritious food.
• The asset limit has been raised to $7,000 and does not include vehicles.
• IRAs and tax-preferred retirement accounts are counted as assets.

Homebound older adults or their caregivers can determine their eligibility for the program by applying over the phone.

For more information about Food Support (food stamps) call Hunger Solutions‘ Minnesota Food Help Line at 1-888-711-1151. To locate the food shelf closest to you, call 2-1-1. To order materials for the Eat Well to Be Well Campaign, contact the Minnesota Institute of Public Health, 763-427-5310 Ext. 126.

Contexts has much to recommend it. One of the more interesting articles in this issue was on hunger, wherein I learned that for the first time in human history, the world is home to more than one billion hungry people. Interestingly, the article suggests that hunger has less to do with a shortage of food than with a shortage of affordable or accessible food. In other words: We have plenty of food, it just isn’t going where it’s needed (or if it is, the people there can’t afford it). Population has grown, yes; but food production has grown even faster.

In Minnesota, more than 1 in 10 households are what is called “food insecure,” meaning that they have difficulty obtaining enough food for all their members due to a lack of money and other resources. One of the things Greater Twin Cities United Way is doing to help address hunger is working with food shelves and food banks to make systems more efficient—primarily by increasing capacity—so that we can get more food to hungry people. You can read more about these efforts on our Website.

A few other things that caught my eye in the winter issue:

• Ageism in the workplace
• Sexism in food advertising
• Civility in U.S. society (going downhill)
• Redefining retirement

And then, when I went to get the links for this blog, I found the most interesting thing of all: Sociological Images. As you might guess from the title, it focuses on interesting visuals—maps, graphics, etc.—that viewers/readers submit. (You know, I wouldn’t have thought that you could even get 2,800 pigs in a square mile.)

While some of the visuals focus on advertising (truth in advertising, silly advertising, misleading advertising), many are simply good depictions of data, like this age pyramid: such a good way to see where we’re going over time in one graphic. Look at all those 85+ women—by 2050, they will be the largest age demographic!

One of the things the article stresses is that the stigma around food stamps has declined over the last few years and particularly in the last year, as more and more people are relying on food stamps after losing their jobs. Another thing that has helped is the move to plastic: Food stamps are now loaded onto little plastic cards (EBT cards), just like debit and credit cards, so their use isn’t as conspicuous. They even gave the program a snappier name—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP for short).

Minnesota is exactly average in terms of participation: Nationally, 66% of those eligible for food stamps are participating in the program (data are from 2007—the most recent available) and the same percentage of eligible people participate in Minnesota. Looking specifically at the working population, there are an estimated 179,000 working people in Minnesota whose income is so low they are still eligible for food stamps. Of those, only 56% are participating in the program (also the same as the national rate). For more detail on participation rates, check out the USDA Report: Reaching Those in Need.

One of the cool things about the New York Times article is the accompanying interactive graphic, which shows participation rates down to the county level. Looking at the data for the nine-county Greater Twin Cities United Way service area, Ramsey County stands out: 12% of the population is on food stamps, including nearly one-quarter (23%) of children. Hennepin County comes next, with 9% overall and 16% of children. But some of the biggest changes are seen in the outer counties: Carver County has seen an increase of 82% in food stamp use since 2007, and Scott County has seen a 70% increase. Increases were substantial in Isanti (58%) and Chisago (54%) counties as well.

If you’ve hit hard times and are wondering if you or someone you know might be eligible for food stamps (or other financial assistance programs), go to Bridge to Benefits and fill out the screening tool—after answering just a few questions, they will tell you what benefits you may be eligible for and provide contact information and links to applications.