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At the end of March, I had the privilege of spending some time with the Highland Valley Elder Services’ Meals on Wheels program in Northampton, Massachusetts as part of their “March for Meals Month” to raise awareness about senior hunger.

I began my visit in the kitchen at the Walter Salvo Elder House where an average of 550 healthy meals are prepared from scratch every weekday for delivery to homebound seniors and disabled residents of Hampshire County. I had the opportunity to chat with Highland Valley Director Allan Ouimet and Nutrition Program Director Nancy Mathers.

Then, I helped volunteer driver Arthur Mongeon pack up the day’s meals in insulated coolers to keep the food hot. This day’s meal was homemade chicken covered in gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, applesauce and milk. The food looked and smelled delicious. Reminded me of what my grandmother used to make.

I joined Arthur on his normal “N1” route, making stops at 15 homes in Northampton. At each stop, I had the opportunity to deliver the meal and chat with the residents. It was an eye-opening experience and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing people’s stories.

Each meal delivered contains one-third of the daily nutritional recommendations. For many individuals, the meal they receive from Meals on Wheels is the only well-balanced meal they eat all day. The individuals who receive these meals are low-income and often have significant health challenges that make it simply too difficult to prepare a full meal, never mind going out to the grocery store to shop.

One of the most interesting things I learned from my visit is that Meals on Wheels is so much more than just a meals program.  People who are homebound – many who live alone – look forward to the brief, daily visits from volunteers. These visits lift their spirits and allow them to socialize.  And volunteers can check in and see how they’re doing. Because of programs like Meals on Wheels seniors can stay in their own homes where they’re most comfortable and live independently longer.  

When we talk about food insecurity in this country, nearly everyone talks about children.  And we’re right to want to do everything we can to end childhood hunger. But lost in that narrative is the reality that among the food insecure, the rising population is seniors.

One in twelve seniors in our country is faced with the reality of hunger. That’s 5.3 million seniors who don’t have enough eat. Many are living on fixed incomes that often force them to choose between prescriptions and food – or paying their medical bills or heating their homes.

Seniors and the disabled represent about 20 percent of those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- or SNAP -- benefits. The average SNAP benefit for households with seniors is a meager $134 per month.

Unfortunately, we also know that eligible elderly households are much less likely to participate in SNAP than other eligible households. Many seniors may not realize that they qualify for assistance, or they may simply be reluctant to ask for help.

Seniors have unique nutritional needs. Hunger is especially dangerous for seniors and can exacerbate underlying medical conditions. Food insecure seniors are at increased risk for conditions like depression, heart attack, diabetes and high blood pressure.

May is Older Americans Month and national organizations like Feeding America, the nationwide network of food banks, are focused on raising awareness about senior hunger through their hashtag Solve Senior Hunger social media campaign.

In July, we’ll mark the 50^th anniversary of the Older Americans Act , which provides a range of critical services – including Meals on Wheels – that enable about 11 million older adults to stay independent as long as possible.

To honor that significant anniversary, I hope that Congress will pass a strong reauthorization of OAA programs, which have been flat-funded over the past decade and without a long-term authorization since 2011.

Demand for OAA programs and services continues to rapidly increase as our population ages, and to think that more and more seniors will experience hunger is heartbreaking.

I’m proud to represent the wonderful people and the work they do at Highland Valley Elder Services throughout Western Massachusetts. Every day they are making the lives of seniors a little better and a little brighter.

We in Congress should do our part to ensure that our nation’s seniors don’t go hungry. We should pass a strong reauthorization of the Older Americans Act that adequately fund programs like Meals on Wheels. And we should reject harmful cuts to SNAP that will disproportionately harm the most vulnerable among us – children, seniors and the disabled.

We should urge the White House to hold a White House Conference on Food and Nutrition to come up with a comprehensive plan to end hunger once and for all in this country.

We can and should do more to End Hunger Now.

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