Anita has lived in Chelsea for 63 years. At 71, she struggles with mobility issues, receives just $23.83 in monthly SNAP benefits, and grows her own tomatoes to help save money — often making impossible decisions between food, rent, and medicine. With more older adults in New York City than school-aged children, Anita is not alone.
These are the New Yorkers experiencing invisible hunger behind closed doors. And despite campaigning on making the city more affordable for all, Mayor Mamdani has been silent on affordability for older adults.
A true affordability agenda must account for the needs of one of our city’s fastest growing populations. They can’t be an afterthought. So the question remains: can we afford to grow old in the world’s wealthiest city?
Many older adults rely on fixed incomes, live alone, and are physically unable to shop or cook. Today, nearly one in five older New Yorkers live in poverty and that number is growing. According to our own research, 65% of Citymeals’ recipients live on less than $15,000 annually, while 60% remain food insecure even after receiving a daily meal.
The two largest government programs fighting adult hunger are food pantries and SNAP. Neither are sufficient for older people, who often can’t travel far from home.
Food pantries rarely offer mobile options, and SNAP cannot be used for home deliveries. The mayor’s signature food policy — city-owned grocery stores — could be a game changer for thousands of older adults, if paired with free home delivery that reaches those struggling the most to leave home.
Other programs designed specifically for older adults fall short as well. The Older Americans Act of 1965 only requires one meal a day, five days a week. But one meal a day isn’t sufficient. Citymeals fills the gap on weekends, but older adults are otherwise largely left to fend for themselves.
We’re no longer living in the world of 1965, when families were more likely to live nearby and lifespans were shorter. Today, neither is true, and decades of underinvestment have left the social safety net too thin to compensate.
Recognizing that someone needs a home-delivered meal while leaving them to manage the rest on their own isn’t a solution. It’s a symptom of the invisible ageism embedded in these systems.
That’s why Citymeals delivered 2.2 million meals last year to 22,000 New Yorkers. There are still more we aren’t reaching. Our public sector has not kept pace, and philanthropy cannot fill this gap alone.
The mayor has an opportunity to think bigger and define affordability for an often unseen demographic. That means expanding access to nutritious food for older New Yorkers.
It also means modernizing and investing in home and community-based services that will support us in old age. It includes low or no cost delivery options for older adults who are shut out of the convenience economy.
And it means building programs flexible enough to meet the full spectrum of needs as New Yorkers age, from their 60s and 70s into their 80s, 90s, and beyond.
When government provides this foundation, philanthropy can invest in what comes next. Our organization has already demonstrated what innovation is possible: delivering additional meals, fresh produce, and shopping assistance to those who would otherwise go without.
Mamdani has spoken about building a more affordable city that works for everyone. I invite him to come meet some of the New Yorkers we serve and see for himself the challenges of aging with dignity here.
Because in the wealthiest city in the world, growing old should never mean going hungry.
Shapiro is the CEO of Citymeals on Wheels, a nonprofit delivering meals and working to end hunger among older New Yorkers.