February 11, 2021

SIKESTON — Southeast Missouri Food Bank has received a grant from Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation to build awareness and address issues related to senior hunger. Enterprise has partnered with Feeding America, committing $15 million for senior and child hunger programs over the next six years. ...

SIKESTON — Southeast Missouri Food Bank has received a grant from Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation to build awareness and address issues related to senior hunger.

Enterprise has partnered with Feeding America, committing $15 million for senior and child hunger programs over the next six years. The funds were awarded to 46 food banks nationwide based on their applications for projects to address senior hunger. A reported one in 12 Missouri seniors are considered food insecure, meaning they don’t have the resources to acquire enough food for a healthy diet.

SEMO Food Bank’s program will focus on raising awareness of its resources to address senior hunger to encourage referrals for services.

“We don’t have local stats on the prevalence of senior hunger, but we suspect it could be even higher than the state average because southeast Missouri has a higher concentration of people over age 65 and higher rates of hunger and poverty than other regions of the state,” said food bank President and Chief Executive Officer Joey Keys. “Our goal is to make sure this segment of our population and the social service and health professionals who serve them know what programs we have available to access food.”

The project includes educational materials and outreach to social workers and other service providers at area hospitals, skilled nursing centers, physician offices, senior nutrition centers, churches and more, Keys said.

Food bank programs to address senior hunger include:

• Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which includes monthly boxes of food for people over age 60 who meet income eligibility guidelines.

• Access to food pantries, soup kitchens and mobile food pantries

• Application assistance for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/food stamp) benefits. According to one report, only 41 percent of eligible seniors are enrolled for SNAP benefits.

“Enterprise Rent-A-Car is committed to helping address food insecurity around the world, including right here in Southeast Missouri,” said Shena Bolz, Enterprise Group human resources manager. “We support Southeast Missouri Food Bank in their fight against hunger in our community.”

For more information about SEMO Food Bank resources and senior hunger, visit the website at semofoodbank.org.

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