Seniors

Nearly 1 million Seniors Living Alone do not have enough food to eat on a regular basis or rely on food banks and charities.

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Many seniors who rely on food banks for their everyday needs never thought that they were ever going to be in this situation. 

Emily has just celebrated her 74th birthday. Until quite recently Emily was always able to take care of herself. She wasn’t well off but had a small pension from her lifelong job as a clerk with a bank that meant she could live comfortably and although she didn’t have a great deal for luxuries she could always make ends meet. Then came the bad news that the bank had failed and, apart from a small savings account, Emily found that she was destitute.

“I just sat down and cried for days. I got so low that I even thought about suicide.” To survive Emily sold her car and some of her most treasured possessions but she could see that soon even that was going to run out. “Every week I ate less and less to try to make the money last until eventually I was just eating oatmeal every other day.”

Predictably Emily became sick and was admitted to the hospital and it was there that she was visited by Ralph and his wife Mary. Ralph and Mary are volunteers at the “Beacon of Hope” a center that provides a traditional soup kitchen for the homeless and those in need.

When she was released from the hospital Emily became a regular in the line at the kitchen. “At first I was so embarrassed” said Emily, “it just didn’t feel right that I should be in a place like this. But everyone was so caring and made me feel as though they wanted me to be there. After a while when I got my strength back I started to help out cleaning the tables and sometimes serving the food. It made me feel a lot better that I was doing something in return for all the good things that they were doing for me.”

Lizzy is someone you would probably call a "Bag Lady" as you pass her in the street with all her posessions in plastic bags in an old stroller.

Although now in her 60's Lizzy has lived on the streets almost all her life. She is no stranger to being hungry and were it not for the generosity of people like you she would probably not be alive today.

For the elderly, the hungry and the needy, the members of Turkey Club America are a lifeline, providing for the most basic need of all. When we feed someone like Lizzy, we are truly giving the gift of life to someone who just cannot care for themselves.

Join the fight against Hunger in America – give the cost of just one or two meals a month to help feed hungry seniors, children and families.

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