Understanding Senior Hunger

Hunger is a serious threat facing millions of seniors in the United States and understanding it is a critical first step to developing strategies to eliminate.

But little research has been done in this area. That is why in 2007 the Meals On Wheels Association of America Foundation, with the generous underwriting from the Harrah’s Foundation, commissioned a research study entitled The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America. It was conducted by Dr. James P. Ziliak, Director of the Center of Poverty and Research at the University of Kentucky and Dr. Craig Gundersen of Iowa State University. That study – the most comprehensive national research study to look exclusively at senior hunger in the U.S. – was released at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in March 2008 in Washington, D.C.