The older we get, the more important it is to take care of our health.
But right now, with inflation hitting grocery stores, it's difficult to choose between healthier, more affordable foods and less healthy, cheaper alternatives.
On Tuesday, Washington's Department of Aging and Community Life (DACL) launched a pilot program to help seniors make the right choices, and that includes money so they can afford it.
"If you walk past the pantry, you get a lot of canned goods and not necessarily the ones you like," says Gloria Dubisset, who lives in Columbia Heights sadly. "With this card you can go to the store and buy whatever you want, that's great."
This is the starting point for this program.
"We are providing 450 seniors with a $125 ration card that will be renewed monthly for the next 11 months," said Jessica Smith, acting director of DACL. "They can use the money at any grocery store in the area to buy whatever they want."
The only condition for putting money on a card (but you can't take it to an ATM and withdraw cash) is that seniors must go through a certain number of feeding cycles.
For Lawrence Bird of Anacastia, this was more of a benefit than a concern.
"Great. I think it's a very good program," said Bird. "They tell you lots of good things to do for your body and things to help keep your spirits up so you can live longer."
"People are assumed to have knowledge at a certain age, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case," says Dubisset. "Everyone needs to be reminded and educated about how to eat, especially as you get older, because what you eat affects your health."
The pilot program is open to seniors who meet certain criteria, including income and residency requirements. You should also be able to cook for yourself.
"These are the people who created the community we know and love," Smith said. “You are smart and capable. They know the choices they want to make about their diet and we want to give them that power back and really see how that affects their health and mental health.”
They want the program to be popular and hope it will grow. And while it may be too late this year, she realizes there are other forms of support available to seniors who need it.
"DACL provides many services to the food industry," Smith said. “We have door-to-door deliveries, we have community kitchens, 40+ locations across the region delivering groceries to people. We also have partners across the community offering product and product delivery and the like.
"We want to make sure that even if someone needs services, as these programs are currently limited, we can connect them to a number of our nutritional programs across the region."
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