More than 20 percent of the people Roadrunner® Food Bank provides food assistance to are senior citizens struggling to make ends meet. One way Roadrunner Food Bank provides food to low-income and hungry seniors is through our Senior Hunger Initiative (SHI). 

How Hunger Affects Seniors

Many low-income seniors live on fixed incomes which they must split between food, utilities, and medical expenses. We have heard from many of our seniors that one of the first items they cut from their monthly expenses is food. Even with government assistance programs such as social security or SNAP (food stamp) benefits, many seniors are not taking in an adequate amount of nutritious food to keep them healthy, or to maintain their current health.

Seniors are vulnerable to hunger. For seniors, limiting their food intake drastically alters their health and significantly impact their quality of life. As seniors age mobility is an issue.  Being able to walk or drive can impact a senior’s ability to visit food assistance sites to receive food.

Hunger research shows that seniors experiencing hunger have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure in their household. In fact, 73 percent of households with seniors report high blood pressure and another 46 percent of households with seniors report diabetes in their household.

About our Senior Hunger Initiative (SHI)

Our Senior Hunger Initiative (SHI) provides a variety of hunger-relief programs to low-income senior housing sites, senior centers, and other locations who serve seniors.

1. Mobile Pantries – Every month senior sites receive a mobile or “traveling” food pantry held at a senior center or low-income senior housing site. Each senior household receives healthy food such as vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat, and more.
2. Fixed Food Pantry Locations – Each senior center or low-income housing site has the ability to establish an on-site food pantry at their location. We supply the food so that seniors can visit the pantry whenever they need help with food.

Becoming a Senior Hunger Initiative Partner

If you are interested in potentially being considered for our Senior Hunger Initiative in your community, please call (505) 349.5352 or email ProgramsSupport@rrfb.org. Please also complete this short questionnaire regarding your needs and intentions. Once the form is submitted, our staff will review it and get back to you within a few weeks. Please note, this is not the official application or agreement of partnership.  It simply helps us understand your current food assistance program or your intentions to start one.

Keep in mind, we are seeking partners who are committed to serving their community year-round. As the site host and sponsor, you’ll be asked to:

• Select a site with good parking and accessibility for a tractor-trailer or semi truck.
• Organize the location, volunteers, and tables to facilitate food distribution.
• Spread the word within your school about the scheduled delivery.
• Roadrunner’s fleet will deliver food directly to your school if selected for partnerships and in coordination with you.

Finding Food Assistance

If you need access to food assistance in your area, please click here and enter your zip code.

How You Can Help Seniors in New Mexico

Our food bank needs your ongoing support to keep our Senior Hunger Initiative going. We couldn’t help the tens of thousands of seniors we feed every week without your help. Together, we can feed vulnerable and medically frail hungry seniors.

Please support our Senior Hunger Initiative by:

• Making a one-time $50 donation to provide up to 250 meals to seniors
• Creating a recurring monthly donation by joining our Roadrunner Club
• Hosting a food collection drive or fund drive at your business or with your community-based organization
• Volunteering in our warehouse or with other non-warehouse volunteer needs.

 Contact us to see how you can help take part in finding solutions to ending hunger in New Mexico.