December 29, 2023 at 5:45 a.m.
Food help for seniors is just a call away
Food insecurity creeps up on you.
It’s because life is so unpredictable that no one can see clearly the road ahead, or the many curves a long life will likely throw in their path. It’s also true that no one can predict how those life changes will impact an individual’s plans for their retirement years ahead.
Personal or family-related health issues, the death of family members, rising costs around insurance, medications, housing, food, and transportation, etc. are inevitable. Yet mostly they are unpredictable in scope and impact. That is, it is not a matter of whether such change will come, it is a matter of when it will come.
Food insecurity can be one potential result of such changes later in life. Households move from being food secure today, all right if you will, to being food insecure in the blink of an eye. We’ve all heard or read the stories on the news or heard them from neighbors and friends, about a senior citizen faced with the decision to choose between either paying for their food or paying for their medications.
“It is not uncommon that such changing circumstances put many seniors in the unfamiliar position of needing help stretching their budget,” explained Feed Our Rural Kids president Perry Pokrandt. “That is why, in partnership with the Vilas and Oneida County Departments of Social Services, we created the Family Food Helpline, and opened up the line to residents of all ages.”
The Family Food Helpline at 888-479-FORK (3675) is where food insecure households call when they don’t know who to call.
Family Food Helpline Chairperson Kate Ferrel explained further. “Even though FORK is a child-centric organization, the Family Food Helpline is a resource for all food insecure households in both Oneida and Vilas counties.”
According to the USDA, almost 13 percent of rural households are food insecure. Additionally, nine out of the 10 counties in the U.S. with the highest levels of food insecurity are rural.
If you live in Vilas or Oneida counties and your family is uncertain about where the next meal will come from, you can dial 888-479-FORK and a trained professional will answer your call.
“Individuals of all ages can also access FORK’s online ‘Resource Locator’ to self-help,” added Ferrel. “Go to www.FeedOurRualKids.org/Resource-Locator, and you will find food resource solutions sorted by availability in each of our areas cities, towns, and townships.”
If you would like to financially support FORK’s Family Food Helpline, go to www.FeedOurRualKids.org/Donate.
Feed Our Rural Kids is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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