CAC’s Senior Nutrition Program Provides Healthy Food for Healthier Lives
How Santa Barbara’s Community Action Commission Aids Our Elderly Neighbors
We’ve heard a lot about the vulnerable senior population during the COVID-19 pandemic. But even prior to that, a study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that, in California, one in five adults over the age of 65 lives in “an economic no-man’s land, unable to afford basic needs but often ineligible for government assistance.”
Santa Barbara’s Community Action Commission is attacking this challenge head-on.
“CAC’s Senior Nutrition program provides a daily nutritious meal to this vulnerable population in Santa Barbara County, where the need is compounded by the area’s high cost of living, primarily due to a lack of affordable housing,” said CEO Patricia Keelean. She explained that these “invisible poor” receive inadequate social security to cover their basic needs and yet do not qualify for government safety-net programs, such as SSI and SNAP.
