Objective:
To explore (1) the services older adults use to address the barriers to food access they face and (2) how they found out about these services.
Design:
Semistructured, basic descriptive qualitative in-person interviews.
Setting:
Senior center and participants’ homes.
Participants:
A convenience sample of 24 older adults recruited from suburban and urban settings. Primarily Black females, living alone, and able to leave home without help.
Phenomenon of Interest:
Financial and nonfinancial barriers to food access, awareness of services available.
Analysis:
Codes were assigned to portions of the text in which participants described how they learned about a service. These codes were categorized into one of the 3 larger themes that emerged: (1) intentionally sought by the participant, (2) intentional outreach by the service, and (3) encounters in daily life and environment.
Results:
Most connections to services were made through encounters in participants’ daily life and environment; for example, word of mouth from family, friends or neighbors; connection through other services; referral from health care professionals; and seeing the service in their neighborhood.
Conclusions and Implications:
Robust social networks, medical screening, and referral may promote awareness of food assistance services. Future research and outreach should target those who are most isolated.