Encouraging Your Parent to Make a Difference during Tackling Hunger Month

Tackling Hunger Month

Home Care Wilton CT

Approximately 1 in 6 people throughout the United States suffers from hunger on a regular basis. This accounts for 49 million people who are considered “food insecure” by the United States Department of Agriculture. This means that they do not have access to an adequate supply of food at all times. The rate of food insecurity is dramatically higher in those households that have children, with just under 21 percent of households with children suffering from hunger. According to the National Council on Aging, senior adults are also at pressing hunger risk, with more than 4 million adults over the age of 60 relying on government assistance to have access to the food that they need.

October is Tackling Hunger Month. This is a fantastic opportunity to encourage your aging parent to get out into the community and make a difference by helping those who are vulnerable overcome hunger and live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. For your elderly loved one, helping in this way can help them to achieve better mental and emotional health, ward off depression, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness and isolation, and keep them more active as they age in place.

Let these ideas inspire you for ways that you can help your parent get involved during Tackling Hunger Month:

• Start a food drive. Work with your aging parent to start a food drive within organizations, clubs, or other groups that they are a part of. Houses of worship, community centers, and learning centers are often great places to set up a food collection box that you and your parent can then pick up and deliver to the local food bank.

• Participate in a food drive. Your loved one does not have to head up the drive to make a difference in through food collection. Encourage them to check with the local food bank to find out what foods they especially need and purchase a few extra of these each time that they go to the store so that they can donate them.

• Volunteer with the food bank or other organization. Your loved one can also give of their time and effort to help those struggling with hunger. Encourage them to volunteer with the food bank, their house of worship, or other group that has soup kitchens, community dinners, or other hunger relief efforts.

Starting home care for your aging parent can be an exceptional way to encourage them to get more active in the community around them and to live the highest possible quality of life as they age in place. An in-home senior care services provider can help your parent to evaluate the ways that they can give back to others and give them the support that they need to handle these challenges effectively. This can mean providing reliable transportation to activities and events, offering encouragement to keep them involved, and even being there with them to provide support and personalized care that can modify the tasks to their abilities and limitations.

Sources: http://www.2-harvest.org/tackle-hunger/
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-hunger-us

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Wilton CT, please contact the caring staff at Fairfield Family Care today.