Senior Citizens, Inc. (SCI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people age successfully, announced today it supports legislation being introduced in Washington, D.C., to end hunger and combat food insecurity. Meals on Wheels America, of which SCI is a member, is also participating in the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger and Health. 

“In America and in Georgia, we are facing an escalating problem of senior hunger and isolation. As the senior population grows exponentially, more and more people are at risk of hunger and isolation,” said Patti Lyons, president of SCI. “One in five Americans are 60 or older. One in four of those older adults lives alone and an additional one in four feels lonely. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 9.7 million American seniors were threatened by hunger.”

Food insecurity – especially for older adults – can also be felt more acutely during the holidays. 

“As the local Meals on Wheels provider, Senior Citizens, Inc. will be providing more than 60,000 meals to local seniors between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day,” Lyons said. “However, we provide more than just a meal. We also provide some human connection and a wellness check, which is important now more than ever.”

On Tuesday, October 26, 2021, Members of Congress led by U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) will introduce a new bipartisan, bicameral bill that would start the process of convening a national White House conference on food, nutrition, hunger, and health.

The first and only White House Conference focused on hunger and nutrition was convened in 1969. It led to landmark legislation and nearly a decade of transformational progress in the fight to end hunger in America—spurring the creation and expansion of programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.

Patti Lyons, president of Senior Citizens, Inc., is available for interviews about the significance of this legislation and its impact on older adults in coastal Georgia. 

To schedule an interview, please contact Nancy Fullbright at [email protected] or 912-236-0363.