In 2021, Aetna Medicare is coming alongside Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to invest $25,000 into Community Health Education programs serving seniors and families across central NC.
In North Carolina, 9% of seniors are at risk of food insecurity. According to Feeding America, the rate of hunger among seniors age 60 and over has increased by 38% since 2001. Older adults at low-income or fixed-income face specific challenges placing them at high risk for malnutrition: health and dental issues, limited mobility, lack of transportation, social isolation, and cognitive decline.
The Food Shuttle uses innovative strategies and interventions to provide healthy food and resources to older adults in need. This includes the Grocery Bags for Seniors program which supplements the fixed income neighbors through door-to-door distribution of fresh produce and groceries every month.
In spring 2021, Aetna Medicare’s support of the Grocery Bags for Seniors program got to shine with the distribution of purple Aetna-logoed cloth grocery bags and added nutrition education cards to over 1,000 seniors.
Caption: Volunteers in Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s warehouse pack over 1,000 bags of nutritious food and education materials ready for delivery through the Grocery Bags for Seniors program.
The Aetna partnership has extended into the Food Shuttle’s pilot Food Access and Education for Rural Seniors (FAERS) Program, which serves low-income African-American and Hispanic seniors living with type 2 diabetes in Johnston County. This program, which runs from February to October 2021, is focused on providing participants with nutrition education, increasing the number of meals and seniors served, increasing home deliveries, and developing collaboration with community partners who work with seniors in the area.
Aetna Medicare’s support recently included involvement with the Food Shuttle’s Community Health Education (CHE) Cooking Matters courses, which emphasizes healthy low-cost meals and nutrition education. Aetna representatives stopped by a Cooking Matters class held at Camden Street Learning Garden to take part in the class and hand out prizes for the Food Bingo game.
Aetna plans more engagement this fall as Grocery Bags for Seniors and CHE programming continues. As many of our neighbors, who are at risk of hunger, are making difficult choices between food and medical bills, or food and keeping the power on. The Food Shuttle is grateful for collaborative partnerships to serve our communities.