About

Problem

650,745 Ohio seniors are isolated, living alone. 375,362 are threatened by hunger. 683,124 are living in or near poverty. On average, 70 AFP volunteers deliver over 6,000 funds of nutritious groceries every month to local seniors in need. AFP has served over 53,000 household deliveries and now averages 350 households per month. Clients or referring agencies are welcome to call our office at (216) 496-4329 with questions or to make a referral.

Growing Poverty Levels Among Senior Citizens

  • According to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the poverty rate among senior citizens is more than one in seven (15 percent) nationally
    • On a local level, nearly one in three Parma seniors aged 65 and older lived below 200% of the poverty level 2012, equaling to approximately 4,500 seniors
  • Other measures of poverty place the number of seniors living in economic risk even higher. Nearly half (48 percent) of seniors nationally are “economically vulnerable” meaning they live on income less than two times the supplemental poverty threshold. That’s 18.8 million seniors
  • 6.8 million seniors live in poverty tin the United States today and those numbers will rise as the baby boomer population age
  • Action is needed now to alleviate the impact of poverty on seniors today and in the future.
    • The number of food insecure seniors is projected to increase by 50 percent when the youngest of the Baby Boom Generation reaches age 60 in 2025
    • Homelessness among seniors is projected to rise by 33 percent between 2010 and 2020 and by 100 percent between 2010 and 2050

Transportation Limitations

  • Cleveland is ranked 24th among metropolitan areas where seniors 65 and over have the worst transit access, with 54% of the elderly population affected

Isolation Among Seniors

  • Older people are particularly vulnerable to social isolation or loneliness due to loss of friends and family, mobility or income
  • It is estimated that across the present U.S. population aged 65 and over, between 5 and 16 per cent report loneliness, while 12 per cent feel socially isolated

Existing Concerns

  • Each month thousands of qualified people do not receive emergency food because of its limited availability
  • No grocery programs in our area targets specifically to seniors and exclusively delivers directly to clients’ homes
  • There are many different, independent food programs around Cleveland, but the communication among these programs were weakly established

Solution

Poverty, Mobility, and Isolation

  • To alleviate hunger by providing free, healthy groceries to low-income seniors and those with mobility challenges
  • The longevity, quality of life, independence, financial viability, and general health of clients are improved through nutritional assistance AFP delivers, while it lessens the debilitating effect of social isolation

Community

  • AFP has become known as a proponent of innovation, efficiency, and collaboration among faith communities and civic groups
  • We work with other organizations who share AFP’s vision, supporting and serving as a mentor of smaller organizations, churches, and pantries
  • We foster interest and activism in the community at large regarding the challenges of local seniors living in poverty
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