Chattanooga Area Food Bank - Nourish Holiday 2025 by Allegiance Group

Supporting Our Seniors

This holiday season, we’re shining a light on our work to bring food and nourishment to seniors across our service area. Our donors and supporters likely know about our Sack Packs and Summer Bags for kids, our Mobile and In-School Pantries that feed families, and Foxwood Food Center, our guest-choice food pantry. But across our 20 counties, almost 20,000 seniors are food-insecure. Senior food insecurity is a complex problem, arising from unique factors like mobility issues, nutritional needs, and ﬁxed incomes that don’t always cover every cost. We believe everyone deserves access to food, no matter their age.

10.4%

Senior Food Insecurity Rate in Georgia

Many of our most-dedicated volunteers are seniors and retired older adults. Day after day, they arrive to sort groceries, pack Emergency Food Boxes and Sack Packs, and make deliveries to the very edges of our service area. Without their help, we could not distribute over 20 million pounds of food each year.

An Estimated

18,726

Food-Insecure Seniors in Our Service Area

During Meigs County’s most recent Mobile Pantry at The Gathering in Ten Mile, Janice, an elderly neighbor, was asked why she visited the pantry every month.

“It helps a whole lot,” she said. “It saves money, so I can pay other bills.”

Janice’s story is unfortunately not a rarity among our senior population. Many elderly neighbors forgo lifesaving medical prescriptions or services so they can afford food. Others may choose to heat their home or take care of a pet before buying groceries for themselves. Many seniors have claimed to skip meals or medication to stretch their limited resources.

More quotes from seniors in Janice’s community of Meigs County are featured throughout this issue.

Senior Food Insecurity Rate in Tennessee

7.5%

“[This Food] helps me tremendously to get through the month. I am so grateful — so grateful — for this. I appreciate it.” -Tina

“This helps feed my family at the house — a family of nine.” -Kimberly

Dalton First United Methodist Church and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank both partner with City of Refuge in Dalton, Georgia. We all play a part to make sure our hungry senior neighbors in Northwest Georgia are fed, cared for, and setup to thrive in their golden years.

During a recent service project, Dalton UMC volunteers made cards to accompany City of Refuge’s food deliveries. Our homebound neighbors face several barriers to accessing food, so deliveries can be vital lifelines for older adults and s eniors with disabilities or mobility issues.

“Groceries are just so expensive. This helps a whole lot.” -Carla

We don’t just provide food for seniors, we also help our elderly neighbors sign up and retain SNAP benefits. According to Feeding America, less than half of all eligible seniors are signed up for SNAP. Our Public Benefits team regularly conducts outreach at our senior mobile pantries and other distribution locations to help seniors and older adults navigate the SNAP application process. Last year, we submitted over 1,500 SNAP applications, many of them on behalf of our senior neighbors. If you or someone you know may be eligible for benefits, scan the code on the back, or visit chattfoodbank.org to get help.

Holiday Cranberry Orange Cookies

8 tbsp (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar

Zest of 1 orange

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups (18g) all-purpose ﬂour

2 cups (228g) dried cranberries, roughly chopped

Coarse sparkling sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 425°F and line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla, baking powder, and salt until wellcombined.

Add the egg. (If you’re using cold eggs, the mixture may look curdled, but it’s perfectly ﬁne.)

Add the ﬂour and cranberries and stir until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.

Roll about 2 tbsp of dough into a ball, then roll the ball in the coarse sugar to coat. Leave about 1 1/2” of space between each ball, then ﬂatten with the underside of a glass or measuring cup until each cookie is 1/2” thick.

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until light golden brown and just barely set in the middle.

Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.