BATTLE FOR WORLD / KHN | September 21, 2019: As America waste its funds on senseless overseas wars, segments of its citizenry are left destitute, poor and starving.

Millions of seniors across the United States are quietly going hungry as the safety net designed to catch them struggles because the government's priority is elsewhere. A country that prides itself on so many things, one has to wonder if it's all hype when 8% of Americans age 60 and older are designated as “food insecure” in 2017, according to a recent study released by the anti-hunger group Feeding America. Reporting that’s 5.5 million seniors who don’t have consistent access to enough food for a healthy life, a number that has more than doubled since 2001 and is only expected to grow as Americans reach into their senior years.

While the plight of hungry children often gets support with school meals, the plight of hungry older Americans is hidden in isolation. The problem according to the study is most acute in parts of the South and Southwest. Louisiana shows the highest rate among states says the report, with 12% of seniors facing food insecurity. The state of Memphis is becoming worst among major metropolitan areas, reaching 17% of seniors, where many are unsure of their next meal.

And the complaint is that government relief falls short and gives the impression that the government is not much interested in addressing the problem. One of the main federal programs trying to help seniors is struggling for money. And the Older Americans Act - passed more than half a century ago as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society reforms - was amended in 1972 to provide for home-delivered and group meals, along with other services, for anyone age 60 and older. But funding to the organization has lagged far behind the growth of the senior population, as well as economic inflation.

“It’s really sad because a meal is not an expensive thing,” said Sally Jones Heinz, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, one of the groups that provides home-delivered meals in Memphis. ”This shouldn’t be the way things are in 2019.”

Poverty researcher James Ziliak at the University of Kentucky who worked on the Feeding America study, said food insecurity increased with the Great Recession, which started in the late 2000s, peaking in 2014. He also said it shows no signs of decreasing to pre-recession levels.

One of the concerns noted that seniors who are just out of the hospital are particularly vulnerable, as many end up getting readmitted, pushing up taxpayers’ costs for Medicare and Medicaid. A recent analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center showed that Medicare could save $1.57 for every dollar spent on home-delivered meals for chronically ill seniors after a hospitalization.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, an Oregon Democrat chairing the Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, says she expects the panel to tackle legislation for reauthorization of the "Older Americans Act" soon after members return from the August recess.

“I’m confident the House will soon pass a robust bill,” said Bonamici, “and I am hopeful that the Senate will also move quickly so we can better meet the needs of our seniors.”

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