Photograph by Kathy De La Torre

Joan Wilderman (right) and Jeannette Dignon (left) joke around with friends at the Adult Lunch Program at the Campbell Community Center. The center is one of 30 congregate nutrition sites in the county.

Countywide nutrition programs help seniors

By Rita Baum

Americans over age 50 represent a little more than 25 percent of the total U.S. population, yet they control 70 percent of the total net worth of U.S. households. That represents nearly $7 trillion of wealth, and 77 percent of all the financial assets in America, reports Ken Dychtwald in his book Age Wave.

Of course, not all seniors are wealthy. About 1.5 million elderly Americans rely on food stamps, coupons that can be used instead of cash to pay for food at grocery stores.

Putting that in perspective here at home, in Santa Clara County, approximately 12 percent of food stamp users are age 60 or older, and more than half a million seniors depend on community-based senior congregate nutrition and home-delivered meals programs. Another quarter million seniors participate in supplemental food programs, such as Operation Brown Bag.

And there are many more undernourished seniors that could benefit from these programs who do not use them. Program providers say that many seniors don't use federal nutrition programs because they don't know about them, find them hard to apply for, or associate them with welfare.

Officials are in the process of minimizing the hurdles of obtaining food stamps by automatically making older persons eligible when approved for Medicaid and more than doubling the monthly dollar benefit. Food stamps worth $130 per month are available to single older people whose gross monthly income is $905 or less ($238 for couples with incomes up to $1,219). Persons on Supplementary Security Income (SSI) are already automatically eligible for food stamps.

Another food stamp boost will come from the Department of Agriculture, which is offering $10 million in grants that would provide coupons that eligible seniors can exchange for fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets in 2001.

To take advantage of these opportunities, seniors must apply at an application center (see below). Outreach and Escort can provide transportation, if needed, and in hardship cases, food stamp staff can handle the eligibility process by phone and a home visit. Applicants must provide identification and evidence of immigration status.

Meals on Wheels programs are another great boon to seniors. These programs enable older people to have at least one well-balanced nutritious meal each day without having to shop, prepare food, or even leave their own homes. Eligibility starts with a phone call to one of the two Meals On Wheels agencies (see side bar). The home-delivered meals and congregate meals program are believed by many to be among the most beneficial programs to emerge from the Older Americans Act of the 1960s.

Lack of information about programs is only one of the obstacles to poor nutrition in older people. A study commissioned by the Journal of Gerontology reports that varied factors contribute to poor nutrition among some older people. Depression, isolation, poverty, early dementia, declining efficiency of taste buds, chewing problems and some medications can all have an adverse effect on appetite and eating habits. Physical limitations such as arthritis, or vision deficits may restrict the ability to shop for and prepare food safely and easily. Some newly widowed people experience changes in eating behavior, loss of appetite and weight loss.

Often these factors lead older people to participate in nutrition programs or to move to congregate housing, where meals are prepared, social activities are available and companionship is plentiful. Debbie Kranefuss, director of Los Gatos Live Oak Senior Nutrition and Service Center, says that the Los Gatos site at 111 Church St. is just one of 30 congregate nutrition sites in the county. Congregate nutrition sites are provided at senior centers, churches and other centrally located community buildings.

In addition to a well-balanced meal, seniors enjoy entertainment, special activities, such as tours, and lectures on nutrition. Often, these noontime meals are a hub of activity, conversation, laughter and socialization.

Free or low cost transportation is available to and from most nutrition sites. Seniors can participate five days a week, or occasionally at any site in the county, but must be age 60 or older, or the spouse of an eligible participant. Meat, chicken or fish are served most days. A donation of $1.65 per meal is appreciated; however, no one is denied service due to inability to pay. Guests under age 60 are served if space is available.

Santa Clara County has two senior home-delivered meals programs for less active seniors, one delivering frozen meals and the other delivering hot meals. Nearly 800 older people participate in the Council On Aging (COA) Meals on Wheels program, which delivers seven nutritious well-balanced frozen lunches and breakfasts once a week to homebound seniors, age 60 and older. Participants are generally frail, of ill health, homebound, or unable to prepare their own meals. The meals meet the guidelines for a moderately low salt, low-fat diet, but special diet meals are also available. A suggested donation of $12.25 per week is requested.

The Health Trust Hot Meals on Wheels delivers a hot dinner Monday through Friday at noon and weekend box lunches to approximately 400 homes throughout the county. Both programs have similar eligibility and nutritional standards and offer special diets. The Health Trust, United Way and other organizations enable the hot meals to be offered at a sliding fee scale based on income, with the highest price on the scale at $6.30 per hot meal. Individuals who need temporary meal-delivery during a recovery period are also eligible, reports program director Ann Hayes.

Important aspects of the daily hot meal program are the daily well-being check and the delivery of food that does not require heating, says Hayes. The staff will contact a family member if a driver finds a participant in distress of any kind.

Many older people are able to prepare their own meals, but lack regular transportation to the grocery store. Certain churches provide a grocery shopping service for their elderly parishioners, and 4,300 older people pick up a weekly bag of groceries at one of 57 centrally located Brown Bag food distribution centers throughout Santa Clara County. Some sites have volunteers who deliver the bags to people who cannot pick up their own groceries, but volunteers are often in short supply, says Laura Kaczmarek, Second Harvest Food Bank spokeswoman.

Getting good nutrition may become easier for people of all ages and living situations in the future. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that nutrition research continues in all areas, and in recent years scientists have finally turned their attention to the effects of human nutrition on aging. Scientists seek not only to gain information about how foods affect our minds, bodies and general health, but also to learn how modified and fortified foods can be produced to more efficiently feed a population that is expected to double in 50 years.

Even water is getting a boost. Enhanced bottled water fortified with fiber, vitamins and other combinations of nutrients is available on grocery store shelves. Health conscious consumers can buy juices containing calcium and "power bars" that provide almost all the daily nutrients. Soon chocolate bars may be so packed with good nutrition that they can be eaten in good conscience!

Community nutrition sites:

Nutrition sites are open to all seniors age 60 or older.

Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos 408.358.3636.

Campbell Nutrition site, 1 W. Campbell Ave. 408.378.9130.

Live Oak Senior Nutrition and Service Center, 19 High School Court, Los Gatos 408.354.0707.

Santa Clara Senior Center, 1303 Fremont St., Santa Clara 408.984. 3266.

Sunnyvale Nutrition Site, 535 Old San Francisco Road 408.739.0833.

West Valley Cupertino, 6191 Bollinger Road 408.996.7210.

Willows Senior Center Site, 2175 Lincoln Ave. 408.448.6400.

Home Delivered Meals:

Council On Aging Meals On Wheels (frozen meals) 1.800.510.2020.

Health Trust Meals On Wheels (hot meals) 408.961.9870.

Second Harvest Food Bank Operation Brown Bag, 408.266.8866, or hotline 1.800.984.3663.

Food Stamps Assistance Application Center, 591 N. King Road, San Jose 408.271.5600.

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Rita Baum has a master's degree in gerontology and has worked in the field of aging for more than 20 years.

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