Learning Outcome: Participants will be able to understand individual and
environmental factors associated with food insecurity among vulnerable
community-dwelling older adults with varied level of functional limitations.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between living in
food deserts and food insecurity in a statewide sample of 43,259 older
Georgians (mean age 76.4 + 9.2 years, 70.8% female, 40.3% African American)
receiving aging and meals services. Food insecurity and other participant data
were collected through the Georgia Aging Information Management System
using valid measures. Participant residences were geocoded and categorized
according to Five Georgias classification system (i.e., urban vs. rural) and US
Department of Agriculture food desert definition (i.e., low-income and lowaccess
census tracts). Approximately 27% of the sample were food insecure,
and they were more likely to be young old (60-74 years old), minority, at or
under poverty, living alone, urban residents, and at higher risk of functional
limitations including physical function, vision, and hearing problems than
food secure participants. Food insecure participants were more likely to live
in food deserts with low levels of access to a grocery store or healthy,
affordable food retail outlet than their counter parts (28.2% vs. 26.0%,
p < 0.0001). Logistic regression models showed that those living in food
deserts were 1.1 times more likely to experience food insecurity even after
controlling potential confounders (95% CI:1.01-1.11). The findings of this
study suggest that older adults may experience increasing vulnerability to the
effects of poor food environments due to diminished physical competency
and limited resources, and warrant further studies to understand the challenges
low-income older adults face in the community to meet their basic
food needs.