This news item expired on Friday, August 31, 2012 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
Since June of 2011, the following dining and wellness sites around the County have served more than 350 older adults with over 25,000 meals:
- Avery’s Creek Community Center
- Lakeview Senior Center in Black Mountain
- Senior Opportunity Center (City of Asheville)
- Shiloh Community Center
- Weaverville at First Baptist Church
In the words of many of the seniors who participate, these sites provide them with life changing, energizing, motivation that "Gets me going… keeps me going." To learn more, check out this short video.
Why do this? Health…
Healthy lifestyles are more important than heredity in helping older adults avoid declines in health traditionally associated with aging. Studies show that older adults who routinely eat nutritious food and drink adequate amounts of fluids are less likely to have complications from chronic disease and require care in a hospital, nursing home, or other facility. (American Society for Nutrition and Society for Nutrition Education: J Am Diet Assoc.2010)
Is it just for ‘poor’ people? NO…
A 2005 report on older adult social dining programs by the Mayo Clinic found that malnutrition or under-nutrition affects not only frail and impoverished seniors, but affects active, independent seniors previously thought to not be ‘at risk.’ According to the report, many seniors living alone, (especially women and minorities), are subject to malnutrition because they often don’t cook, substituting snacks in place of healthful meals, leading to the development of poor dietary habits. Malnutrition weakens the immune system, increases the risk of pneumonia, serious infections, and mental confusion. The study concluded that an effective preventive measure is to encourage seniors to join programs where they can eat with others.
Is it just about ‘the food’? NO…
Social interaction with others in a nutrition program plays an equally important role in improving nutritional status for seniors. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, September 30, 2005).
Not only does The Senior Dining program provide social integration opportunities combined with wellness activities and a balanced meal, but sites create a local ‘community of support’ with lasting relationships that serve as a ‘safety net’ of persons who help one another in time of need.
Is it cost effective? YES…
A majority (87%) of older adults have one or more common chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease), all of which are preventable or treatable in part by access to appropriate nutrition services. And it makes sense economically…the cost of one day in a hospital roughly equals the cost of one year of Older Americans Act Nutrition program meals, and one month in a skilled nursing facility equals that of providing mid-day meals five days a week for about seven years.
AND in YOUR community…
Project EMMA (Eat better, Move More, Age well), is the Council on Aging’s health and wellness program that collaborates with local partners to bring healthy aging activities that are affordable and have demonstrated effectiveness with this population to all of the sites. Project EMMA includes:
- exercise in collaboration with YWCA of Asheville Buncombe County and community professionals
- access to Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers for local farm markets
- health education around a variety of topics and in collaboration with the NC Center for Health and Wellness. Programming includes cognitive exercises, healthy eating including the importance of eating fresh foods, health screening (e.g. blood pressure and fall risk screening), medication management, and Medicare education, along with entertainment and intergenerational activities.
Project EMMA has been so successful at helping older adults improve health and well-being that COA was recognized by the BCBS of NC Foundation in 2010 as one of the top ten funded programs and it is now being replicated in senior dining programs across NC.
NOTE: this year, we do not have funds to pay for exercise and other health programming. Because they enjoy it so much, folks are volunteering to lead exercise, and even completing training so they can lead classes.