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A growing number of River City Food Bank’s clients are seniors – some of our most vulnerable neighbors who lost their small nest eggs in the current economic crisis and have no way to recover. Over the summer, we helped an 84-year-old oxygen dependent man pay his utility bills when he was about to have his services shut off. Other seniors have braved the weather and a long walk or bus ride to seek a three-day emergency food supply. Still others, like Arlene Smotherman, featured in a Sacramento Bee story, ended up caring for two teenage grandchildren, and were trying to stretch an income that was meant for two people, to cover four.
The first week in August, River City Food Bank surpassed the number of seniors it had served in ALL of the prior year: 2,166 seniors. By the end of 2009, we expect we may have served as many as 4,000 seniors.
In October 2009, a third round of cuts will be made to California’s Social Security Income/State Supplementary Payment program. Married couples who are over 65 or disabled will lose another $82/month. That’s after losing $65 in July and $47 in May. So we expect to see even more seniors before the year’s end.
Seniors are often poor than federal statistics suggest. While one quarter of seniors were reported to have family incomes below 150% of the federal poverty line as of July 2008, the number didn’t account for healthcare costs, which are a substantial – and life-saving – expense for many seniors. We talk to many elderly clients who skip medications and medical care, and cut back on food, to keep a roof over their heads. According to an analysis released in February 2009 by University of California, Los Angeles, seniors living at the federal poverty level only have enough money to cover half of their most basic costs such as housing, utilities, medical care – and food.
Elderly women are far more likely to be poor than men. Thirteen percent of women over 75 years old are poor, compared to 6% of men. Women end up poorer due to a lifetime pay gap compared to men, occupational choices with lower pay scales, and time spent out of the workforce raising children or caring for elderly parents. |
