Hunger Among Americans 50-Plus Spikes 80 Percent, New Study Says (SLIDESHOW)

Hunger among Americans 50 and older has jumped almost 80 percent since 2001.

More than 9 percent of older Americans were at risk for hunger in 2009, according to a research study from the University of Kentucky, commissioned by the AARP Foundation.

"Food Insecurity among Older Adults" is the first report to examine the youngest of the baby boomers -- those between the ages of 50 and 59. This group faces the unusual challenge of being too young for Social Security and Medicare and too old for aid that's allotted for people with children.

"For the first time, we have a fuller picture of hunger risk among all Americans 50-plus," said AARP Foundation President Jo Ann Jenkins in a press release. "But sadly, it's far more bleak than before."

The slumping economy has played a major role in the spike. In 2009, 4.9 million in this age group were at risk for hunger, a 38 percent increase from two years earlier.

The risk among African-Americans and Hispanics in the same age group was twice that of white people over the years studied.

Though the risk is on the rise, this is the first year in his administration that President Obama didn't propose additional funding for nutrition programs for older Americans. He kept funding flat for fiscal year 2012, according to the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Program.

Enid Borden, Meals on Wheels CEO and HuffPost blogger, has long called on the government to support hunger programs. Due to budget cuts, her organization has had to slash the number of meals it can provide those in need.

"Is America failing our nation's seniors?" Borden asked. "The statistics would say the answer is yes."

Approximately 50 percent of all health concerns affecting older Americans are related to a lack of nutrients, according to Borden. But it's preventable, she points out, saying that the cost of providing meals for hungry seniors is roughly the same as a one-day hospital stay.

Click the slideshow below to see which states have the highest hunger rate among people 50-plus:

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Comments

[Daisy Sagrado]

02:16 PM on 09/13/2011

We as a nation should create ways to prepare for a hunger strike.Ideas like planting fruit trees, vegetables, etc. to prepare ourselves from poverty. I think we will starve if we don't have money. I think we should find ideas to help each other.

[T Dubb]

01:47 PM on 09/04/2011

The earth is changing.
http://youtu.be/cL5WFv205lM

[allizgreat]

09:56 PM on 09/03/2011

The answer is YES! You have failed us 50 to 59 but you have failed the whole o most middle class of americans. I blame all of you that hold elected positions. You should all be impeached for not doing your job.

[Amanda Jones777]

06:37 PM on 09/03/2011

With Obesity rates off the charts, I'd think we have a much more serious problem with eating too much, or eating the wrong foods and not exercising. Generally, I see a lot of overweight people who don't really exercise. If they do, it's not enough to really do it. I remember seeing these rather very overweight women work out in the gym, then go to the steakhouse. NO, you can't do that. You have to go to the health food store and eat a salad with lowfat dressing and tofu sticks or salmon etc. And youu need to do at least 45 minutes of real cardio a day, 5-6 days a week and cut out red meats, eat mostly fruits and veggies and don't drink soda, coffee and those diet drinks. You gotta run at least a couple of miles per day or bike ride for 45 minutes. I find it rather odd that more people seem to have a weight problem than not having enough food.

[TruelyFedUp]

01:57 PM on 09/03/2011

So, give them the resources to be self sustaining. My favorite option would be to appropriate land and the resources needed to create self sustaining eco villiages throughout the country so that any
American in need would have available free housing and fresh organic food in exchange for a few hours per day of work maintaining the gardens, grounds and buildings. They should be fully funded by the government till they are self sustaining. People living in vibrant communities that they build, maintain and govern themselves will be more secure and happier than millions of individual retirees struggling to pay for heating, power and the things needed to keep millions of separate residences going.

At the very least their mortgages should be forgiven because of bailouts and the resources for them to become self sustaining in their homes or communities should be provided.

[AndyWright68]

07:21 AM on 09/02/2011

We need more charities and volunteers not government force and theft.

[msm0207]

10:43 AM on 09/01/2011

AARP could spend some of its lobbying money to stock food banks. The poor are always hurt the most. Some of the poor elderly are that way because of lifetime habits and mismanagement. Others have suffered setbacks. This supposedly came from Southern States. They never have recovered from the many years of rotten Democratic rule. With the Federal funds that have poured into the South, there is no reason for Mississippi and other states to always be so bad off. Help done locally is best. Churches have always been the best at it, but God save us from Christians. I'm ashamed of America having hungry people. I'm ashamed at the political nonsense surrounding it. Every agency and their contractors are perpetuating situations so they can get the $.

[Ask me Later]

09:39 AM on 09/01/2011

My mother and I helped an elderly woman that used to live right next door to us because she was getting 5 dollars with her food stamps. She was too old to work, and her disability was just enough to cover the rent. Keep in mind this was not a high priced place, she just didn't make that much because of what she used to do. I don't know how many elderly people actually get over 10 dollars in food stamps. It's an outrage. They are the ones that led the way for us. They are the ones that put everything together for us to have a future and this is how we treat them? Think about where you would be if it wasn't for them! Help them instead of blaming everything else!

[Amanda Jones777]

06:38 PM on 09/03/2011

Why didn't they have a retirement account?

[nthespian]

09:48 AM on 08/31/2011

Why do these arguments always boil down to partisan finger-pointing? This is why nothing gets done in this country. Politicians are too busy attempting to place blame on the other party for votes (BOTH parties do this) to really roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work. I work 40+ hours a week with women and children who are homeless. I don't wear a suit to work. I wear jeans. Want to know why? Because helping people, feeding people, and making sure that the less-priviledged of us have their most basic needs met is a dirty job. Politicians need to get into some Levis and act like human beings, and get on the frontlines of America's crises. And hey, maybe rather than spend 60B on defense contractors in Iraq/Afganistan/Iran to build schools and shelters there, why not bring that money home and improve our schools here?

[alycemd]

05:40 PM on 08/31/2011

Thank God for people like you. I eat two meals a day, partially because that's all I can afford, and partially because I'm terminal and have litte appetite. You're right, BOTH parties are to blame, which is why I doubt any of this will change in the forseeable future. I wish everyone in Congress could spend 1 day in my shoes. #1, They'ed see how it is for REAL people. #2, Maybe I'd live longer. (OK, I'm selfish) Anyone who thinks that "corporations are people" is not a human being themself. What do you get when you cross the Tin Man with the Scarecrow? The Cowardly Lion, who lives in DC. Thanks for letting me vent.

[TruelyFedUp]

02:21 PM on 09/03/2011

We need to replace those Cowardly Lions with fierce local government that is by and for the people. We need an American Jubilee to forgive all debt and to give land and homes to every citizen plus the resources they need to become self sustaining.

We have more than paid the banks for our land and homes. We should be free people in our own homeland with nothing to worry about but growing our own food and building a government and an economy that serves US.

[TruelyFedUp]

02:16 PM on 09/03/2011

What we need is an American Jubilee. All debt and mortgages will be forgiven. We have paid enough to banks with decades of usurious interest and then bailouts that we should own our country outright by now. End hoarding. No more land speculation and billionaires with 2+ million acres while other citizens must live illegally in tents in the woods without basic facilities.

Our government is controlling 30% of our land - which means, if it was all combined, one could start driving from the west coast and drive east for 2 days or 1000 miles before leaving government land. We need that land freed up and given to Americans that want to create self sustaining eco villages to live in. College students that can't find jobs need this, military vets with young families need this, Americans who have lost their jobs need this, retirees need it too. By combining resources and by helping each other we could have a country dotted with vital, self sustaining communities and stable citizens with the right to live decently in their own homeland.

By ending a debtor society and letting people own their homes and resources we will have a truly free population that is not beholden to corporations for wages to survive and not beholden to government for jobs and handouts to live. We will be a truly free people on our own land and we can start creating a government and economy that serves US.

[martingibsonusa]

09:21 AM on 08/31/2011

So, what are you moderators waiting for? Post my reply post "rwaller". It too is within TOS, Are you waiting for it to go to the next page so no will see it? That's censorship too. Is the truth too hard to bear, and are you afraid it will move people too many lefty's to see things my way>

[European1919]

08:41 AM on 08/31/2011

That'll reduce obesity and the attendant illnesses.

[bkisses]

06:41 AM on 08/31/2011

this recession has took a toll from the bush economy. if republicans have anything to say about it americans will be sipping soup through a straw. no healthcare no food no housing.. they want to take ss checks and make cuts in welfare for the poor. wait until a republican president gets in, people will be on skid road.

[wakohnen]

05:52 AM on 08/31/2011

cost of providing meals for hungry seniors is roughly the same as a one-day hospital stay.

What in the world are they eating? Lets see....one day hospital stay...$2500. Who eats $2500 worth of food in one day? Someone is looking for a payday if these figures are presumed to be real.

Our parents fed us and cared for us when we were growing up so why is it that we can't help them out when they get older? I guess the $$ rules and if they are not leaving a hefty inheritance they are expendable and left to fend for themselves. What a selfish society we have become.

[alycemd]

05:43 PM on 08/31/2011

Oh no, I was in the hospital in June, and I was hoping my bill woud be less than $5. Now I'm worried. :)

[martingibsonusa]

05:40 AM on 08/31/2011

That's better. Thank you.

[martingibsonusa]

05:18 AM on 08/31/2011

All these libs bashing pubs for the this geriatric genocide forget who their President is. Sorry but Obama has been in office plenty long enough to take all the blame. Get real libs. Your poster boy is a useless. Under Obama, this current crisis like all his crisis will spiral even more out of control until not just the old and poor will be starving but all the rich Pubs and Libs will be starving too because if no one is working, no one is buying, then food company's go under and before you know it's just like russia, with only one brand of bread on the shelf, that you might be lucky enough to get first for a million dollars. Bigger government = bigger problems, and that's all we have had since this dullard took office.