Chances are you may not even realize May is Older Americans Month. Those of us who work in the aging policy community certainly do but we have often wondered if these commemorative months really have any meaning to the communities they’re designed to honor? One of our favorite bloggers, has an interesting take on the whole issue and we suggest you read her entire post. We couldn’t agree more with “Crabby Old Lady’s” key takeaway point --

Crabby wants inclusion for elders in daily life every day of the year. There is so much that needs doing for elders that would help them take part in the life of their communities - that would help everyone else too. Such as: • Improve public transportation • Enforce age discrimination in the workplace laws • Encourage better geriatric education for physicians • Invite elders onto the citizen advisory boards of cities and towns • Create opportunities to serve that make use of elders' decades of experience and knowledge • Teach elders how to effectively lobby government officials Most of all, stop Congress from scaring the crap out of elders with constant threats to cut or kill Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Working on these issues would be real honoring of elders.

One more recommendation that fits well under our Older Americans month theme…please take a moment to read this terrific post on Huffington which provides a concise and easy to read listing of resources available to America’s seniors.

A recent report from Meals on Wheels shows a 78% spike in seniors at risk for hunger since 2001. Although senior citizens have a vital lifeline in Social Security and Medicare benefits, rising food prices and health care costs continue to eat away at their fixed incomes.

According to a Huffington Post piece, one in seven seniors in America, some 8.3 million people, are having difficulty affording sufficient food. Certain groups are at a higher risk than others. Seniors age 60-69, minorities and women are more likely to face hunger than the general population. Women make up 60 percent of the population facing a hunger risk and African-Americans and Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to face food insecurity.

Senior citizens on Social Security and Medicare aren’t living “high on the hog,” as some in Washington like to claim when supporting benefit cuts. We should remind Alan Simpson, who once complained seniors were well off driving their Lexus to the Perkins restaurants for AARP discounts, his view of the world doesn’t match up with the facts. We should be finding ways to strengthen Social Security and Medicare benefits, not cut them for those that can afford it the least.