WASHINGTON, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- AARP Foundation will continue its 2017 Summer of Service to
SeniorsSM with a Meal Pack Challenge event on
Sunday, July 9, in Denver, Colorado at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. The Summer of Service to Seniors
is a series of four events in four cities that kicked off in
Memphis, Tennessee in early
June.
With the support of presenting sponsor AARP® Credit
Card from Chase and title sponsors The Hartford and
UnitedHealthcare®, these events will bring thousands of
volunteers together to fight senior poverty and hunger in cities
across the country. In addition to Memphis and Denver, meal-packing events will take place in
Minneapolis-St. Paul on
Aug. 6 and a culminating two-day
event on the National Mall in Washington,
D.C., on Sept. 10 and 11.
In addition to 1.5 million meals already packed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Memphis in the last two months, Summer of
Service to Seniors volunteers will pack 2.5 million more meals at
the upcoming events, for a total of 4 million meals this year for
hungry seniors.
Data from the 2012 Current Population Survey and the 2010 census
show that more than 10 million Americans age 50 or older struggle
every day with limited or inadequate access to affordable,
nutritious food. AARP Foundation is bringing together nonprofit,
government and corporate stakeholders in the food and health
sectors to reform the food supply system by creating solutions to
fight food insecurity and hunger.
"Even though senior hunger exists in every community across the
country, it's one of America's best-kept secrets. Senior hunger is
hidden hunger, and hunger is a health issue," said AARP Foundation
President Lisa Marsh Ryerson.
"The issue of senior hunger is a critical one to focus on,
especially as the senior population will nearly double by 2040,
according to Feeding America," said Leslie
Gillin, President of Co-Brand Cards at Chase. "We are proud
to once again be part of the Summer of Service to Seniors and,
through the AARP Credit Card from Chase program, will continue to
raise funds to combat this issue alongside AARP Foundation."
A survey[1] funded by the Foundation this year shows
a disconnect between how respondents save money on groceries and
the realities faced by those with food insecurity.
- Roughly 65 percent of respondents purchased store-brand
(generic) items to save money, while many low-income older adults
live in identified "food deserts" and may not have any access to
generic items.
- Over half of respondents shopped at multiple grocery stores to
find the best deal. By contrast, low-income older adults with
mobility issues or who lack transportation, or who live in areas
with only one grocery store, are unable to take advantage of
comparison shopping in this way.
"By expanding our Summer of Service to Seniors to four cities,
we're calling attention to the fact that too many low-income older
adults have to choose between buying groceries and using that money
for other essentials, like medicine. The negative impact on
well-being is enormous," Ryerson said.
Meal-packing events during the Summer of Service to Seniors are
part of AARP Foundation's larger effort to increase economic
opportunities and social connections that help prevent and reduce
senior poverty.
The second 2017 Summer of Service to Seniors event will take
place in Denver and include
volunteers from across the state of Colorado. Packaged meals will be distributed
by Food Bank of the Rockies to older adults in the surrounding
Denver area.
"In the Denver area, more than
9,000 seniors receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) benefits and over 109,000 are living in poverty," Ryerson
noted. "The need is real. We encourage the community to learn more
and volunteer to help vulnerable older adults in their
communities."
For details on how to volunteer and other information, visit
MealPackChallenge.org.
AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation works to ensure that
low-income older adults have nutritious food, affordable, livable
and healthy housing, a steady income, and strong and sustaining
bonds. We collaborate with individuals and organizations who share
our commitment to innovation and our passion for problem-solving.
Supported by vigorous legal advocacy, we create and advance
effective solutions that help struggling older adults transform
their lives. AARP Foundation is the affiliated charity of AARP.
Learn more at aarpfoundation.org.
Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial
banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading
global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase
serves nearly half of America's households with a broad range of
financial services, including personal banking, credit cards,
mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans
and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they
want to bank: 5,300 branches, 18,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by
phone. For more information, go to Chase.com.
The Hartford
The
Hartford is a leader in property
and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. With more
than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford is widely recognized for its service
excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More
information on the company and its financial performance is
available at https://www.thehartford.com. Follow us on Twitter
at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG)
operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The
Hartford, and is headquartered in
Hartford, Conn. For additional
details, please read The Hartford's legal notice.
UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to
helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the
health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs,
and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The
company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for
individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and
their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care
professionals and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities
nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and
well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at
http://www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
[1] The study was conducted for AARP Foundation by
Research Now®, an independent research company, via its
OmniPulse® Omnibus Survey. This online survey was fielded
from March 20-23, 2017, among a
sample of 1,232 respondents age 18+. The sampling is U.S. Census
balanced through outbound targeting on age, ethnicity, gender,
region and income.
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SOURCE AARP Foundation