Food insecurity, defined as difficulty in acquiring or accessing food due to a lack of money, affected one in nine of all U.S. households in 2018. Food insecurity is tracked through surveys of the general U.S. population, few surveys specifically focus on food insecurity among older adults. A national poll on healthy aging conducted by the University of Michigan in December of 20191 found that one in seven adults age 50–80 experienced household food insecurity in the past year, with food insecurity more common among some subgroups of older adults. Household food insecurity was associated with lower self-reported physical and mental health and a lower perception of diet healthfulness among poll respondents.
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected food security among many and especially among those already vulnerable. Maine has the largest proportion of older adults among all states and many older Maine adults are low-income and already considered food insecure.
The University of New England’s Center for Excellence in Public Health and the center for Excellence in Aging and Health partnered with Johns Hopkins University and the University of New Hampshire to conduct a survey to understand how older adults are responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Maine as it relates to food purchasing and food access. Results will be available this summer. Findings will be used to inform policymakers and coronavirus response as it relates to ensuring residents can access the food they need. The survey was conducted online form May 15- 31.
1 https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/report/how-food-insecurity-affects-older-adults