A growing number of older adults on Los Angeles' Westside face the difficult decision of how to manage rising costs for rent, medicine, and food.
That strain is showing up in one especially stark place: Meals on Wheels West says its food-delivery waitlist is nearing 100 people for the first time, according to Spectrum News.
Here's what to know
Across the Westside, Meals on Wheels West says delivery requests now outpace anything it has previously handled, according to Spectrum News. The nonprofit serves seniors across the Westside of Los Angeles and reports a median client age of 78.
Kaylee Hawkins, executive director of Meals on Wheels West, said the increase reflects several financial strains hitting seniors at the same time. "Clients being in the position of having to choose between rent, food, and medicine," Hawkins said. "We are seeing the demand just skyrocket."
According to Spectrum News, the seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index shows grocery costs are up 3.4% since January 2025.
More background
Spectrum News reported that Feeding America estimates that about 860,000 California seniors face food insecurity.
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Hawkins said the trend is also tied to the country's aging population. "Preparing for the silver tsunami or the grey wave," she said. "And that's where we're gonna see that we are going to see more baby boomers, or people 65 and over, than there are 18 years and younger in our nation by the year 2030."
Limited mobility, worsening vision, and transportation barriers can make shopping and cooking more difficult, even before prices rise.
The state's Department of Aging says 1 in 5 adults older than 65 who live by themselves can go a month without meaningful human contact.
What's being done?
For seniors who rely on the service, the program offers dependable meal delivery, and volunteer visits can also provide some human connection for people who might otherwise spend long stretches alone.
Senior Anthony Acevedo is on the waiting list to join the program. "My vision is getting worse," Acevedo said. "It's harder for me to get to shop."
Meals On Wheels hopes the community can rally around its seniors and donate money and time to help this vulnerable portion of society maintain a reliable source of food.
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at some of the same pressures pushing more older adults to seek food assistance. They cover grocery costs, senior vulnerability, pollution and climate risks, and policy efforts affecting access to food.
• Across American households, a surprising meal shift is changing how families stretch grocery budgets.
• Across the United States, millions of elderly Americans face rising danger from climate-fueled disasters.
• In Japan, fine-particle pollution risks are falling especially hard on older adults.
• In Illinois, officials are revolutionizing the food system through new public purchasing rules.
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