Have you experienced “food insecurity?” How many of us have even heard the phrase or know what it means? Sadly, food insecurity—which basically means someone simply does not have enough to ear—is a harsh reality faced by nearly 5 million elderly Americans. Ira Riklis knows that many New Yorkers fall into this group. That’s why he’s been a long-time supporter of Citymeals-on-Wheels, an outreach effort to deliver food and human contact to the city’s disadvantaged senior citizens.
The statistics are sobering. One in four seniors in the city is undernourished. More than half of seniors admitted to hospitals are malnourished. And 14 percent of the elderly served by Citymeals rely solely on the one meal a day they receive from the organization. Ira Riklis has watched the program (and sadly, the need) grow steadily over the years. The group currently reaches 18,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers with healthy meals and human contact every day, making our elders feel a little more secure.