Food and Nutrition Service
With the changing family trends, many senior citizens live alone and cannot fend for themselves. Living alone makes it harder for them to meet their nutritional needs, among other conditions. Therefore, this proposal focuses on identifying a sponsoring agency that can help reach and meet the needs of senior citizens in Dallas, Texas, to allow them to enjoy life at their old level. The paper will discuss the group’s purpose and how recruitment will be done. It shall also highlight how the members will be oriented, the roles and responsibilities the participants will take, and the key players in the project.
Agency Sponsorship: Food and Nutrition Service- Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
The mission of the Food and Nutrition Service U.S. Department of Agriculture is to increase food security and reduce hunger by providing low-income people and children access to nutrition education, a healthful diet, and food by supporting American agriculture and inspiring the confidence of the public (FNS, 2022). The agency serves children and people with low income in various states in the U.S., including Texas (FNS, 2022). Food and Nutrition Service has 15 programs assisting many people, including infants and seniors. FNS (2022) finds that these programs form the U.S. nutrition safety net by ensuring that no American citizens go hungry.
The agency program that will help the group under study is the Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). First, this program provides low-income senior citizens access to herbs, honey, vegetables, and locally grown fruits (FNS, 2022). Second, SFMNP increases the domestic consumption of agricultural items via the farmers’ markets, agrarian programs supported by the community, and roadside stands. Third, the program assists in developing new farmers’ markets, agricultural programs supported by the community, and roadside stands (FNS, 2022). This will encourage some low-income senior citizens to grow home vegetables and fruits for their consumption or commercial activities. Besides, Little (2012) noted that U.S. senior citizens are increasingly expressing their interest in returning to work after retirement to meet their luxurious needs and break their loneliness, which is conducive to mental health issues. Eating healthy will give them strength and less hospitalization, allowing them to live their best lives in old age.
Theoretical Framework
The chosen theoretical framework is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory of motivation. This theory stipulates that specific physiological needs usually motivate people’s actions. In his pyramid, Maslow understood that people are more motivated to fulfil their fundamental needs before meeting their advanced needs. Maslow argued that specific conditions must be satisfied before the more complex higher-order needs (Feldman, 2018). Accordingly, primary nutritional and healthy conditions should be met to avoid psychological challenges such as distress and anxiety from failing to meet them. In the lower level of the pyramid, a person’s needs include physiological needs (water, food, air, sex, and sleep) and safety and security (health, financial security, healthcare, and job security). Therefore, SFMNP would be resourceful in helping the low-income citizens in Texas meet their physiological and psychosocial needs. This theory helps understand that when low-income senior citizens fail to meet their health needs, good diet, or even health insurance, they are likely to feel distressed about meeting these needs.
Summary of Activities
The first activity would be to get the local group members to register with the state of Texas and present their identity cards and proof of income below 185% of the Federal poverty guideline. The team will assist and interview the group members about their financial situation. An advertisement will also be shared through posters and social media for referrals of any senior citizen in Texas below the 185% threshold of the Federal poverty line. The program will also partner with other social services organizations to help share ideas and recommendations on meeting these needs through focus groups.
Roles of Group Facilitators and Co-Facilitators
The group co-facilitators will interview the senior citizens with the help of local elders or interpreters if needed to collect information. They will also work with the nutritionists to help in identifying their needs. The group facilitators will be the contact person with the FNS and the state of Texas, particularly the Area Agency on Aging and the State Department of Agriculture, to ensure that the identified group receives aid. The group facilitator will also be in charge of all communication and recruitment of volunteers to help the senior citizens. They will also partner with local social service organizations to counsel senior citizens.
Purpose of the Proposal
This group proposal aims at helping senior citizens above the age of 60 years in Dallas, Texas, maintain a healthy diet and acquire an everyday balanced diet to save their income money for purposes such as health insurance, counselling services, and other things. Besides, senior citizens desire to live healthy lives in old age (Little, 2012); therefore, saving money to seek mental health services, counselling, and home care services would encourage them to focus on getting better. Consequently, this will require working with nutritionists, social services organizations, and volunteers.
Activities
The group participants will coordinate the protection of the senior citizens and ensure they receive food daily and advice on meeting their daily needs. Another activity is providing emergency relief food to fragile senior citizens and working collaboratively with community service providers such as doctors, mental health practitioners, counsellors, and nutritionists to ensure they are healthy. Lastly, the group will also help the senior citizens register for aid with the state department.
Roles of Group Facilitator and Co-Facilitator/ Recruitment
The group facilitator will work with the program facilitators and co-facilitators to guarantee the smooth running of the program and open communication to ensure no senior citizen in need is left out. The group facilitator will also report to the program any challenges faced with delivering nutritious food to the senior citizens. The co-facilitators will collaborate with co-facilitators to identify the seniors in need and help register them. They will also report the challenges senior citizens face. Also, the co-facilitators will work with the local elders to recruit senior citizens because they are more familiar with their situation than the facilitators and co-facilitators. Thus, the localization approach will be used. Counsellors and mental health workers will give senior citizens living alone special attention.
Composition
The target population is senior citizens above 60 years old with a low fixed income below 185% of the Federal poverty line. Heterogeneity will be handled by distributing an advertisement post to other aging populations with higher incomes to donate to organizations that help the low-income aging population. They can be encouraged to do this through GoFundMe.
Demographic Characteristics and Rationale for Picking This Group
Statistically, 9% of the population in the state are senior citizens (Census.gov, 2022). Also, 30% of the senior citizens in Dallas, Texas, live alone, and 23% receive food stamps (Senior Care, 2022). Compared to other states, Texas was ranked 28th in Long Term Care and 42nd in America’s Health Rankings (Senior Care, 2022). Therefore, senior citizens need more care than they receive because of increased needs that burden the healthcare system. Thus, this group was chosen because senior citizens’ needs have prompted innovation in the healthcare system and research companies regarding long-term care. As the U.S. keeps experiencing greying, senior citizens’ psychological and self-actualization needs also increase. As Maslow’s theory stipulates, some people consider self-esteem necessary. To meet these needs, they need to be mentally healthy and able to meet all their physiological needs. If they fail to do so, they are likely to experience mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and stress.
The State Department’s criteria for showing the income of senior citizens will be used to identify those in need regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, background, and gender to ensure no unnecessary discrimination. Their identities will be used to determine their age and nationality status. The project will start with fifty senior citizens; others presenting themselves will be referred to other organizations/agencies offering similar services.
Orientation of Members
A meeting will be held to identify all resources and actors in the project. There will be a formed constitution highlighting the dos and don’ts and the roles and responsibilities of every member. Next, the senior citizens will be recruited through local elders and the state department. Others will be visited at their homes by social workers. The orientation time frame will be between 4th April and 15th April 2022.
Contract
The group will agree to work with the relevant authorities and other agencies that serve the community. They will also sign a written document to ensure good conduct and a whistleblowing agreement to ensure that every misconduct is dealt with justly.
Environment
The project will be conducted in the parks and senior citizens’ homes. The facilitators will ensure that the selected parks have aids for persons with disabilities, such as their spokesperson, interpreters, suitable sanitation areas, and flat pavement. Parking will be designated for persons with disabilities and resting places for seniors with health conditions such as pressure wounds and knee problems. The details on transport and direction will be provided through email before the project day. The anticipated budget for the project is $12000.
Conclusion
As people age in the U.S., there seem to be severe implications for the healthcare system. The growing aging community has prompted many sectors to innovate, rethink, and research how well to care for them. Many senior citizens are afraid of aging because of challenges associated with aging, such as physical health complications, inability to care for themselves, and inability to meet health costs and mental health needs. A low fixed income may not cover all these needs; therefore, there is a need for external support, especially those addressing the sources of their anxiety, depression, and stress. This group predominantly affects the healthcare system regarding long-term needs and its increased need to live active lives in their old age. One way is to eat to maintain a healthy body, create self-reliant home activities, and constantly receive counselling and mental health support. However, this may not be realistic or achievable among low-income senior citizens in Texas. Therefore, liaising with organizations such as SFMNP that target this particular group to address their needs is essential.
References
Choi, N. G., & McDougall, G. (2009). Unmet needs and depressive symptoms among low-income older adults. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 52(6), 567-583.
Feldman, R. S. (2018). Essentials of understanding psychology, Thirteenth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2022). Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition. https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfmnp/senior-farmers-market-nutrition-program
Little, W. (2012). Introduction to Sociology- 1st Canadian Edition. OpenStax College.
OpenStax (2017). Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, Texas: Rice University.
Senior Care (2022). Key Senior Statistics. https://www.seniorcare.com/directory/tx/dallas/
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Question 
Using the group proposal outline below, please prepare a proposal for a group you could do at your agency or another time. You may use an idea for a group you could do in your field placement (one that you are already facilitating or one that you envision would be an appropriate group for the agency’s clientele) or a group you would like to promote in your future professional career.
Food and Nutrition Service
Write this proposal as if you were preparing to submit it to your agency supervisor or director for approval. Use the group proposal outline to structure your paper, each item under the appropriate headings. Forms without titles will not be accepted. Include an introduction and conclusion that discusses your interest in your specific group and the next steps in operationalizing your group. The suggested length is 5–7 pages (this may vary with the group). Type, double-spaced, and use APA style for citations and references.
The group could be anything to do with seniors living with a fixed low income, LGBTQ+ children in either elementary, middle, or high school