Older Americans Month
May is Older Americans Month – a time to recognize older Americans’ contributions, highlight aging trends, and reaffirm commitments to serving the older adults in our communities. May 2025 is also the 60th anniversary of the Older Americans Act, which focuses on providing services to older Americans that will allow them to be independent with a better quality of life in their later years.
In Fiscal Year 2024, The Idaho Foodbank served nearly 45,000 seniors per month through all of our programs and partnerships. This includes community and church food pantries, senior centers, mobile pantries, as well as the senior food box program – the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). CSFP provides boxes of nutritious food to low-income seniors aged 60 and older. We serve 2,100 seniors per month across Idaho through CSFP. CSFP is one of two government programs we administer.
As we age, it is important to maintain healthy habits. Older adult diets should include adequate, high quality protein to help combat sarcopenia, or loss of muscle mass and strength. High quality proteins include salmon, tofu, cottage cheese, turkey, and quinoa. Those who are 65 and older should also strive to consume adequate dietary fiber, calcium, and B-vitamins. As humans age, their feeling of thirst declines, so it is very important to drink water regularly to avoid dehydration.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that older adults should consume foods with higher amounts of fiber, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium. It is also important for older adults to limit their intake of saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars. You can learn more about the USDA MyPlate dietary recommendations and information for Older Americans at myplate.gov.
During Older Americans Month, we want to put a spotlight on our seniors who are struggling to make ends meet. But we also want to recognize the importance of the many volunteers at The Idaho Foodbank and with our food distribution partner network who spend their retirement years volunteering for hunger-relief efforts!