Sara Klauer, service coordinator at Illini Tower Apartments, knows a thing or two about seniors in our local community, having served them at various locations throughout the Quad Cities community. Her current role at Illini Tower Apartments puts her in a direct service role with seniors aged 62+ in a residential setting that also includes on-site access to a food pantry she considers to be one of the most important parts of her job.
“I love the months when I can get them a good variety of food, especially produce,” Sara says. “Seniors love their potatoes in every possible form, so the more potatoes the better … but I also love to give them a variety of options along with some ideas about how to prepare things they might not have prepared before.”
Over and over, this is the point she continues to come back to: Fresh foods and enough of them are hard to come by for many people today, often making it nearly impossible for people on a fixed income to get the nutrition they need.
“Seniors are survivors,” she says. “They’ve spent their whole lives figuring out how to survive, and that makes them resourceful; but in the end, they need help just like the rest of us.”
And at River Bend Food Bank, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to get them the help they deserve.
Rising food costs have consequences for all of us, but there is a unique impact on seniors who are often living on a fixed income. Put in a position to choose between basic necessities, seniors experiencing food insecurity often go without the vital nutrition they need to preserve their well-being. But with access to food pantries, they are able to bring home more nutritious foods, foods they are able to enjoy together.
“My favorite thing is when they start to figure out how to provide these resources for each other. Often, a couple of the seniors in the building call out to another local pantry and bring a variety of foods back to the building for everyone to share. Or sometimes they will cook something to share with others. There is a sense of community in it. And this is what food is about, too; not just nutrition, but being social and just being connected to each other.”
We agree. It isn’t just about nutrition, but about the meaningful connections we make with each other.
If you want to be a part of helping us create those connections, join us with a gift of funds or food at riverbendfoodbank.org/donate