Video: Supporting access to fresh, healthy food for Salt Lake City's senior citizens

By Alison Klein
November 11, 2019
UTblog

The number of senior citizens struggling to afford food is expected to rise in the coming years. At a community garden, Regence volunteers are doing their part to help.

Food insecurity affects millions of Americans each day, and senior citizens are a significant, and often forgotten, part of this critical issue. Many seniors live alone, struggle financially, or face mobility issues that prevent them from accessing nutritious food.  According to the United Health Foundation, the number of seniors who are at risk of going hungry is expected to rise in the coming years as baby boomers age.

We're highlighting some of our incredible employees who are doing their part to help. A group of Regence volunteers spent a sunny fall afternoon digging, plowing, and harvesting some of the season's bounty in support of Green Urban Lunch Box's (GULB) initiative to provide fresh, healthy food to Salt Lake City's elderly population. Through GULB's Back-Farms program, volunteers build and maintain organic gardens in senior citizens’ backyards at no cost.

 "This goes beyond what our team is doing here today," said Alan Ford, a volunteer who works on Regence's provider relations team. "It's about the impact our work has on seniors in need."

See the volunteers in action in the video below, and visit the Green Urban Lunch Box website to learn more, or to get involved yourself. 

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