CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — A study found an increase in the percentage of Erie County residents over the age of 65 currently living beneath the poverty line.
Both Erie County Senior Services and a Cheektowaga food pantry have noticed that change in the number of people in need over the past 10 years.
“55% of our population is over 65 [years old],” said Resurrection Life Food Pantry Executive Director Kim Reynolds. “Our mission is to make sure nobody suffers or struggles with food insecurity. We can’t eliminate it, but we can make their situation easier.”
According to a 2023 report by the Center for an Urban Future, 9.8% of Erie County’s older adults live in poverty – up a full percentage point from 10 years ago.
Reynolds adapted her food pantry during the pandemic to better serve that growing number of older visitors.
For the past three years, they have offered both drive-thru and delivery options, rather than having hundreds of elderly people wait in long lines.
“Standing in line for two hours isn’t something they can do.”
The need was so great that the Resurrection Life Food Pantry built an addition onto the building so they can serve 4 cars at once – the current system serves just one.
AARP New York is in the area looking for ways to help this growing population of over 175,000 seniors in Erie County.
State Director of AARP New York Beth Finkel feels the biggest problem isn’t the lack of options to help people, but more so the lack of awareness.
“A lot of people are eligible for that in New York state but not taking advantage. AARP works very hard to make people aware this is available to them.”
To find out what is available for you can contact either of the numbers below:
Erie County Senior Services: (716) 858-8526
AARP New York: (866) 227-7442
