January 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 36

Photo courtesy of the City of Tualatin Parks and Recreation

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

The City of Tualatin Parks and Recreation's
Community Services Department partners with its local Meals on Wheels People
(MOWP) to provide nutrition services.

Healthy Eating for Healthy Aging!
By Lesha Spencer-Brown, MPH, CPH

H

ow often do you think about where your only hot and nutritious meal
for the day will come from? For more than 15.8 percent (10.2 million)
older Americans, this is increasingly a reality, which often forces difficult
choices between healthy foods, paying utility bills and paying for medicine. Food insecurity - the inconsistent access to a sufficient quantity of affordable
and nutritious foods for active, healthy living (U.S. Department of Agriculture) - is a
growing crisis among all Americans, but has increased by more than 65 percent among
older adults in the past 20 years. Currently, 1 in 6 older Americans are food insecure!
Research shows that older adults are at
an even greater risk of food insecurity if
they fall into any or all of the following
categories:
* Live alone
* Lack transportation
* Are widowed, divorced or separated
* Have a form of disability
* Are African-American or Hispanic/
Latino
* Have lower incomes
* Live in Southern and Southwestern
states and other areas referred to as
" food deserts, " where there is little to

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Parks & Recreation

no access to fresh fruits, vegetables and
other healthful whole foods
Having reliable access to healthy foods
is an important determinant of healthy
aging. Like the role of an active lifestyle,
healthy eating improves psychological
function, helps older adults maintain a
healthy weight and reduces their risk of developing chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and hypertension.
How is parks and recreation part of
the solution to combat food insecurity
among older adults?

| J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

To combat food insecurity among older Americans, local park and recreation
agencies across the country, like the City
of Lincoln Parks and Recreation in Lincoln, Nebraska, which served more than
38,000 meals during the 2016/2017 fiscal
year, have been offering a range of older
adult nutrition programs. Many of these
nutrition programs are offered five days
a week, are either available at centers
or through home-delivered services and
may be funded through partnerships, the
federal government, private donations or
fundraising efforts. But more than just a
healthy meal is offered, programs are a
means for social engagement and volunteerism for older adults.
Through the City of Philadelphia Parks
and Recreation, six older adult centers
offer free lunches and nutrition education
to approximately 800 older adults per day.
" Our meals are funded by the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging and are pre-
January 2018 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2018 - Parks & Recreation
