skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Senior Hunger in Arkansas Worst in U.S.

play audio
Play

Thursday, December 10, 2015   

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - More than 240,000 Arkansans over age 60 are considered food insecure. That means 40 percent of the state's senior population isn't always sure there'll be enough money to meet their basic needs and buy groceries.

Despite programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance or "SNAP," Tomiko Townley, manager with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, says personal pride often gets in the way of an older person getting the food assistance they need.

"There is a lot of stigma associated with accessing safety nets and help with food access, and just overall social support, for seniors," says Townley.

The National Foundation to End Senior Hunger says Arkansas has the highest rate of senior food insecurity in the country, and the numbers are highest overall in rural areas of southern states.

Townley says there is no single profile of a senior who is food insecure. She says rural seniors pride themselves in living off the land and some don't want to admit they need help.

"There is almost a fear of being weak by saying, 'Yes, I am going hungry,' or 'Yes, I am food insecure' - especially with our seniors who like to be independent," says Townley.

Arkansas previously had the nation's highest childhood hunger rate, and Townley says resources that were used to address that problem were therefore not available to help older people.

She suggests individuals find ways to help those who may be in need in their neighborhood or community, but she acknowledges it's often difficult to know who's at risk.

"There's a lot of older adults that are able to mask their struggle with food access, and the last thing they want somebody to identify about them is that they 'look like they might need some help,'" she says.

Townley notes many seniors who thought they had enough resources for retirement didn't recover sufficiently from the economic downturn. Others who thought they had planned well have outlived their resources. Either way, she says, they face difficult choices.

"Some of the struggles we see are that a lot of people are having to decide if they can pay for their food or if they can pay for their medicine," says Townley.

Townley says even offering to give an older neighbor a ride to the grocery store could be the difference between that person getting the nutrition they need and going without.






get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021