Editorial: As Marin residents age, risks of food insecurity can emerge

As Marin’s population grows grayer, it should come as no surprise that worries about food insecurity among our county’s senior population are also growing.

It is another example of the need to invest more focus and funding on meeting the needs of this growing segment of our community.

Over a three-year period – from July 2019 to July 2022 – the county saw a 69% increase in the number of residents 60 years old and up participating in the CalFresh programs, the state’s version of food stamps.

That increase amounted to nearly 1,500 more Marin households signing up for the program, reflecting a growing need in a county considered one of the nation’s most affluent.

But there are little-known human needs masked by the sheen of sky-high real estate prices and high-earning households.

County social service workers, in fact, say that even with the increase in CalFresh signups, some seniors are still reluctant to sign up for the assistance, for which they qualify.

“It’s the hidden poverty that people don’t know about and, for women especially, it’s frightening,” Kristi Denton Cohen, a member of the county’s Commission on Aging, said.

Marin’s own survey of a countywide sampling of older residents showed a marked increase in the number of households worried that they will run out of food because of their financial limitations. That concern was even greater among women in the survey.

Prices rising faster than their retirement income is likely to blame. Rent, taxes and other expenses take a toll, as well.

According to the county, about 30% of Marin’s population is 60 or older. Of that slice of the county’s populace, 7% is living below the federal poverty level – an annual income of $14,579, or less. About 29% fall below the poverty level for self-sufficiency, living on an annual income of $44,000 for individuals and $60,000 for couples.

Even the county’s Meals on Wheels home-delivery program has been a rise in demand, with 950 people signed up for the service – up from 584 in 2020-21.

The pandemic, when social-distancing requirements made it more difficult for some seniors to shop for themselves, drove up the service’s numbers. But the numbers are still higher than they were before COVID-19 requirements were put into place.

Marin is fortunate to have local groups like Marin Villages and local seniors organizations that work – mostly driven by volunteers – to help seniors, helping them live independently.

But isolation remains a constant concern, even with those programs and their dedicated volunteers.

The cost of living in Marin has split up families, leaving many elderly residents living alone while their children live out of county or out of state.

Neighbors and social groups help bridge that gap.

But sometimes that support is lacking. And so is the awareness that there are programs such as CalFresh, Meals on Wheels and local programs from which they would benefit, both nutritionally and from human interaction.

County supervisors have heard proposals that senior services deserves its own dedicated division at the top of the county Health and Human Services Department. The problem seems to be the ongoing cost of creating another bureaucratic branch. But more important is supervisors diligently keeping issues and needs of our senior population on the front burner and directing county resources toward meeting what numbers reflect is a growing need.