BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Food Institute, in collaboration with the IU Center for Rural Engagement, is hosting four, co-design workshops across southern Indiana to create strategies to address food insecurity among Indiana’s senior residents in rural communities.
Food insecurity—the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of lack of money or other resources—impacts 30 percent of older adults living below the poverty threshold and 17 percent of older adults living between 100 percent and 200 percent of poverty in the U.S. Indiana spends over $1 billion per year on medical costs tied to food insecurity.
For 18 months, the IU Food Institute has been meeting with residents from Crawford, Greene, Lawrence, and Orange counties to explore the nature of food insecurity among older adults: how seniors obtain and consume healthy, affordable foods, or not. Findings from these meetings and data collected during the project is available online and will be discussed at upcoming workshops.
Co-designed workshops rely on the voices and ideas of all participants to shape recommendations that fit communities. Taking place over two days in each county, attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about research related to food insecurity across the southern Indiana region and share thoughts on ways to increase access to healthy food with a specific focus on the senior population.