Feeding America® recently released The 2021 State of Senior Hunger in America report. Funded by the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation through its Fill Your Tank® program, the study examines hunger among seniors in the United States.
The report explores the extent to which individuals aged 60 and older experience food insecurity and shows that, out of 78 million seniors aged 60 or older in the United States, 5.5 million were food insecure in 2021.
This number was a slight increase from 2020 – rising from 6.8% to 7.1%. Seniors of color continue to experience food insecurity at disproportionately higher rates compared to their white counterparts as well as the overall food insecure population. Since it is estimated that the senior population will grow to 104 million by 2050, the research indicates more than seven million seniors could be food insecure if the current rate of senior food insecurity does not improve.
This was the seventh consecutive year The State of Senior Hunger in America report was published by Feeding America, one of the Enterprise Fill Your Tank program pillar partners. The Enterprise Fill Your Tank program is a multi-year initiative launched in 2016 to address food insecurity in communities around the world.
The program provides a $115 commitment over 10 years that supports key partners – Feeding America, Food Banks Canada and The Global FoodBanking Network – as well as distributes grants to local food banks and charities throughout North America and Europe.
Click here to read the official Feeding America press release.