AARP and AARP Foundation Kick Off '29 Days of Action' to Fight Senior Hunger

Effort begins Feb. 1 with activities to fight senior hunger across America

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Feb 03, 2016, 04:07 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP and AARP Foundation are teaming up this February to urge people to take action against senior hunger. Throughout the month, '29 Days of Action' (www.aarp.org/29DaysofAction) will encourage people to take simple actions to help combat hunger in their communities. Every day, more than 10 million Americans age 50 and older don't know where their next meal is coming from – which can ultimately lead to a number of health concerns.

Each week during the month of February, AARP and AARP Foundation will highlight easy actions that people can take to help end senior hunger, including starting a community garden, donating food to their local food bank, helping needy older adults access local services and government food assistance programs such as SNAP, and supporting AARP Foundation's Drive to End Hunger. As part of the 29 Days of Action, Denny's and Chase are showing their support for the program by making donations to AARP Foundation – Denny's via an in-store donation drive with AARP members, and Chase through its AARP Credit Cards from Chase program. As a first step to 29 Days of Action, people are encouraged to sign AARP Foundation Hunger Pledge to demonstrate their commitment to helping hungry seniors in their communities.

Celebrity chefs will be offering encouragement and tips for fighting hunger both locally and globally. Carla Hall, chef, author and co-host of ABC's The Chew, will help raise awareness with a guest blog on www.aarp.org that focuses on pressing hunger issues. And celebrity chef Jose Andres will provide recipes along with his own thoughts on the problem of senior hunger and how to address it.

"Millions of older adults face hunger every day and it is an invisible problem. This leads to the impossible decision about whether to eat or handle other financial responsibilities," said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation. "In a country as plentiful as ours, this is shameful. We must work together – making use of the best of what we each have to offer – to help solve this silent challenge and make a difference in people's lives."

AARP Foundation views hunger as a health issue. Every day many older adults skip a meal so they can pay the rent, keep their lights on, or feed their family. Research shows that this food insecurity contributes to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. The relationship between hunger and health can easily become a vicious cycle, as low-income seniors have to spend more on their health care, have even fewer financial resources to spend on food, and may become socially isolated.

As a critical step, AARP Foundation is bringing together nonprofit, government and corporate stakeholders in the food and health sectors to design and implement solutions to combat food insecurity and hunger.

Resources:

29 Days of Action (www.aarp.org/29DaysofAction)
AARP Foundation – Hunger (www.aarp.org/hunger)
Drive to End Hunger (www.dteh.org)
AARP Hunger Quiz (www.aarp.org/aarphungerquiz)
AARP Hunger Resources in Spanish (www.aarp.org/hambre)

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Español, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.

About AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50 and older by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, strengthen communities, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is AARP's affiliated charity. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org.

About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly half of America's households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: 5,400 branches, 17,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by phone. For more information, go to Chase.com.

About Denny's Corp.
Denny's is one of America's largest full-service family restaurant chains, currently operating 1,700 franchised, licensed and company-owned restaurants across the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guam, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Chile, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. For further information on Denny's, including news releases, please visit the Denny's website at www.dennys.com or the brand's social channels via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram or YouTube.