The Problem
As the senior population grows, so does the number of senior citizens who struggle with food insecurity. In a recent study of senior hunger, 8.5% of seniors in Texas are at risk for hunger. These seniors must make difficult decisions, like whether to pay for food or medication, and often face challenges to food access due to mobility or transportation. Hunger can have serious effects on a senior’s health as it may worsen symptoms of conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
According to Feeding America, 5.5 million seniors (1 in 14) are food insecure.
The Solution
The Brazos Valley Food Bank’s Senior Outreach Program (SOP) partners with programs such as Meals on Wheels, home health companies, and low-income senior housing properties across the Brazos Valley to ensure that the most at-risk seniors in the Brazos Valley have nourishment on evenings and weekends when they may be going without food. Seniors who are part of this program receive a weekly bag of food filled with nutritionally balanced, easy-to-prepare items to supplement the meals they may receive from their meal delivery program during the week.
The Impact
BVFB's Senior Outreach Program provides critical support to seniors facing hunger, ensuring they have access to nutritious, easy-to-prepare food when resources are scarce. By partnering with local organizations, the program helps alleviate food insecurity for some of the most vulnerable seniors in the Brazos Valley, allowing them to maintain their health and dignity despite financial and physical challenges.
For the 2023 - 2024 Year, BVFB served 719 seniors with 17,515 bags of food through 12 Partners across 6 counties.
Want to dive deeper into BVFB's Senior Outreach Program?
Learn more about the ins-and-outs at the links below!
Food insecurity is harmful to all people, but it is particularly devastating to seniors.
In the Brazos Valley, Senior food insecurity rates (the most recent data being from 2022) are as follows
Brazos County: 22.6%
Burleson County: 22%
Grimes County: 23.7%
Madison County: 23.2%
Robertson County: 25.3%
Washington County: 22.2%
Below find Feeding America's research on the prevalence of and consequences of child hunger.
Feeding America: Senior Hunger in America
Senior Outreach Partners across the Brazos Valley
Brazos: College Hills, Creek View, Forest Ridge, Greens Prairie, Pebble Creek, River Bend, Rock Prairie, South Knoll, Southwood Valley, Anson Jones, Bowen, Bonham, Crockett, Fannin, Henderson, Houston, Johnson, Kemp, Mary Branch, Mitchell, Neal, Navarro, Sul Ross Summer BackPack: Juvenile Services
Brazos: Meals on Wheels, LULAC, Highland Villas, Clara Mounce Library
Burleson: Meals on Wheels
Grimes: Meals on Wheels, Grimes Health Resource Center
Madison: Madison Health Resource Center
Robertson: Meals on Wheels, Community Resource Center, Bremond SOP
Washington: Washington County Healthy Living Association
As a Senior Outreach Partner Site, you will work alongside BVFB to help address senior hunger in your community.
Each Senior Outreach Partner Site:
- Identifies seniors who could benefit most from receiving a Senior Bag, and delivers Senior Bags to those identified seniors
- Safely stores Senior Bags until delivered to seniors
- Report each month, telling us about the population served through the Senior Outreach Program
We know that the Senior Bag program doesn’t reach all the low-income seniors who could benefit from the program. We are looking to learn more about programs serving seniors in the Brazos Valley, and how we can work together to ensure that seniors have the nutrition they need to stay healthy.
If you would like more information on becoming a Senior Outreach Partner Site, contact Winter Terral – Special Programs Manager at WinterT@bvfb.org or (979) 779-3663 ext. 113.
BVFB's Senior Outreach Program In The News:
Senior outreach program helping elderly in the Brazos Valley (KBTX)
Clara B. Mounce Library partners with Brazos Valley Food Bank backpack and senior bag programs (KBTX)