DES MOINES — U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) today introduced bipartisan legislation to break down barriers to food access for low-income seniors living in rural communities. The Delivering for Rural Seniors Act, co-led by U.S. Representative Jasmin Crockett (TX-30), will expand home delivery options for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), ensuring more seniors can receive the nutritious food they need.
“Far too many seniors in rural Iowa can’t access the food they need to live,” said Rep. Nunn. “Right now, more than 100,000 eligible seniors are missing out on food assistance, often because they can’t travel to distribution locations. This is a commonsense solution that will deliver for our seniors – literally.”
Access to healthy, nutritious food is essential for seniors. CSFP is a discretionary food assistance program that provides monthly food boxes to roughly 760,000 eligible low-income seniors 60 years or older.
“It’s my responsibility to help ensure North Texas families have access to food,” said Rep. Crockett. “Everyone needs to eat, but lingering inflation is impacting grocery prices and fueling food insecurity among low-income families – especially seniors on fixed incomes. The Delivering for Rural Seniors Act would create a pilot program that provides funding to food banks, allowing them to develop innovative last-mile delivery systems for residents with limited mobility. Local food banks, such as Tarrant Area Food Bank, which serves my district, have supported this bill and are as excited as I am for this initiative. While this is vital for North Texas, this is also an important issue for the United States as a whole. As Congress works through a Farm Bill—ensuring all individuals have access to nutritious food should be a top priority. This bill brings us one step closer to turning the food deserts of North Texas—and across the country—into food oases!”
Unfortunately, many eligible for CSFP face mobility and transportation barriers that make it nearly impossible to obtain food provided by the program if required to travel to another location. In fact, more than 100,000 eligible seniors do not participate in the program—often because they cannot travel to food distribution locations. Home delivery of CSFP food boxes has shown to be a powerful tool in breaking down barriers to access for participants and increasing participation for eligible seniors.
“Due to rising costs and other challenges, seniors in Wisconsin continue to face food insecurity,” said Matt King, Chief Executive Officer, Hunger Task Force. “The Delivering for Rural Seniors Act is a key step toward ending hunger in our community by allowing us to deliver monthly senior food boxes to seniors who face transportation or mobility challenges. We’re excited to see this bill introduced and, with this funding, we’ll be able to serve more than 1,500 seniors right at their doorstep.”
“NCSFPA supports efforts to improve the ability to provide food packages to eligible individuals, including those proposed in the Delivering for Rural Seniors Act,” stated the National Commodity Supplemental Food Program Association (NCSFPA). “Some seniors who cannot get to food distribution sites depend upon the delivery of food packages to them and are in need of this assistance.”
“Meals on Wheels America commends Representatives Nunn and Crockett for introducing the Delivering for Rural Seniors Act,” said Ellie Hollander, President & CEO of Meals on Wheels America. “This bipartisan bill would seek to improve nutrition access for low-income seniors living in rural areas by providing additional resources to pilot and partner with local organizations, like Meals on Wheels, to deliver nutritious foods to the home through the Commodity Supplemental Nutrition Program (CSFP). Strengthening and securing nutrition access for older adults is a top priority for our organization, and we are committed to working together to advance and implement this promising pilot program.”
The bipartisan Delivering for Rural Seniors Act would establish a pilot grant program for eligible entities that facilitate home delivery of CSFP food boxes. The Delivering for Rural Seniors Act would not only get food into the hands of those in need but would also help innovate reliable delivery systems for seniors in need.
Rep. Nunn introduced the bipartisan Delivering for Rural Seniors Act in Des Moines at Polk County Supplemental Food. Video of the press conference can be found here. Text of the bill can be found here.
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