Food insecurity reaches across all populations of people, but it often enacts its most devastating physical and mental health effects on already vulnerable groups, like seniors.

Seniors across our nation add valuable perspective to our communities and take an active role in maintaining them. It’s the unfortunate truth, though, that many seniors struggle to have their basic needs met.

In Michigan, around 291,000 individuals aged 60 or older face hunger. Nearly half of them are in the Metro Detroit area. Poor nutritional access can create or worsen chronic health conditions experienced by older individuals and cause a sharper decline in general physical and mental well-being than in other adults.

Forgotten Harvest’s Healthy Food Healthy Seniors program is a direct response to this heightened risk.

While our diverse network of food distribution sites already serves many seniors facing hunger in our community, Healthy Food Healthy Seniors creates targeted partnerships with senior residential communities to ensure fresh, nutritious food is as accessible to this population as possible.

Eden Manor is one senior apartment complex partner in our Healthy Food Healthy Seniors program. Twice a month, Forgotten Harvest delivers a variety of wholesome food that Eden Manor resident volunteers set up in an on-site community room for their fellow residents to “shop” from free of charge.

Jill Moore, the food distribution coordinator at Eden Manor, told us, “We couldn’t find a good fresh food option. It was all too expensive or unavailable. [Our partnership with Forgotten Harvest] is a nice operation and very well done.”

As well as providing needed nutrition for the senior residents, Jill said, “It’s helping for socialization. There are some residents who don’t leave their apartment, and this is the one time they do come out, and that’s a good thing. It’s right here and it’s available for them. They don’t have to leave—which is another issue.”

Many Metro Detroit seniors are on a fixed income that, with the high prices of today, isn’t enough to cover every expense. Further, a lot of our community’s elderly can’t easily access personal or public transportation, so what seems like a simple act of going to the grocery store becomes a challenge.

Ingrid Boatner, Eden Manor building manager, said, “Some of them don’t have vehicles. Some people don’t have the family support—they really just don’t. So this is a blessing to them, totally.”

One of Eden Manor’s residents, Geraldine, shared, “This is really beautiful. The stuff is good, everything is good.I got blueberries today, and I just got a blender and a smoothie mixture the other day that I haven’t been able to try out. And now I get to add blueberries that are very good for your body, they’re very healthy.”

Through Healthy Food Healthy Seniors, Forgotten Harvest tailors support for a vulnerable population of Metro Detroiters by meeting them exactly where they are and with food that meets their nutritional needs. As this program expands and more of our community’s seniors are taken care of, so does our gratitude for everyone who supports us in our work.

If you’re able to, consider helping Forgotten Harvest continue this kind of work by making a gift through our donation page or offering some of your time to one of our many volunteer opportunities.