Mary Vance knows the reality of making a choice about the bill she can afford to pay. When she discovered the Murray Need Line’s food program 10 years ago, that choice became a little easier.
This is reality for many senior citizens living in Murray and Calloway County, including Vance. Vance, a senior citizen in Calloway County, has received food from Need Line for the past 10 years.
Need Line developed a program for food insecure seniors in Murray and Calloway County in 2008. What began as a pilot program to help seniors supplement their diet turned into a government program that provides roughly 30,000 to 45,000 pounds of food a month to USDA commodity food recipients and to 315 food insecure seniors in Murray.
“I’m a little lady and my money’s tight. I have had big medical bills. This has helped me get back on my feet. I don’t have to buy as many groceries as I used to, you know. And it is just, it’s just wonderful.”
Mary Vance
Vance, who has ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, says when they come by they always want to know if she has anything new to eat, especially new types of cereal. She loves spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and enjoying the new foods that Need Line provides.
“I really advise anybody that is of age and qualifies to do it. I really do,” Vance said.
There are many seniors in the community that qualify. 13 percent of Murray’s population is senior citizens over age 60;
- 33 percent of those seniors live alone;
- 4 percent live on less than $10,000 a year;
- 40 percent live on less than $20,000 a year;
- 3% of Murray residents 60 and older received food stamps in the last year;
Food waiting outside to be put into vehicles
Tonia Casey, Need Line’s executive director for the past 22 years, has seen the program blossom into the program that it is today. Casey knows the importance of this program and sees how it benefits the seniors in the area.
“Imagine living and working all your life and having a good income, and then you retire. And you get to draw anywhere from $725 up to maybe $1,000 a month,” Casey said. “You may not be going to work every day, but you are trying to figure out, how much can I spend on groceries? What if my light bill goes up this month? And we know with the COVID so many of our seniors have been terrified to get out, and they have every right to be.”
While the program now hosts 315 seniors and provides $200 worth of food each month — an assortment of cereal, fruit, vegetables, meat, milk and eggs — food insecurity in Calloway County, in general and especially in seniors, is something of which people are unaware.
Food waits outside to be put into vehicles coming through the line
Food insecurity among the seniors in the community is an issue not often talked about. Casey said these are someone’s family members, the backbones of the community and they are less able to take care of themselves most of the time, but they are proud and not often willing to ask for help.
Casey has seen firsthand the pride of local seniors, and their reluctance to ask for help.
“There’s just so much hunger and they’re not going to say it. They’re not gonna say I’m food insecure, when probably in this area, they’re the ones who are doing without the most and nobody knows,” Casey said. “Our seniors are not going to talk about it. They’re proud. They don’t want anybody to know. And they dadgum sure don’t want to go up and apply for food stamps.”
Margaret McCallon has volunteered with Need Line for the past 2 ½ years. She said she has seen a large number of seniors needing food assistance.
“It’s surprising when you see the number of people that come in here, and of all ages, not just seniors, but the senior program in particular is a growing concern,” McCallon said.
Members of the American Legion and Murray State students often volunteer at the food pantry. They provide the new smiling faces helping to load cars with bags of food.
Jim Clemons has volunteered in the community since 2001. He drove for the Billy Lane Lauffer American Legion Post 73 for many years and when he was told he couldn’t drive anymore because of a heart condition, he started to volunteer at Need Line.
Jim Clemons 
“I can definitely feel it, I’m around 80 years old and I love coming down here and volunteering for those in need,” Clemons said.
Cameron Wallace, a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, has helped at Need Line for the past three semesters. She sees what Need Line is doing as beneficial to the community.
“We see so many different people in the community, young and old and we see how they struggle, and so we’re always willing to help them, and we’re seeing so many happy faces come through,” Wallace said. “We’ve seen some people start and end here and the journey is just really amazing to see.”
Casey has seen many seniors come through the system and benefit from the food drives. She recalls a few years ago that Need Line was doing a drive thru food drive and one of the senior citizens started blowing the horn and called her over.
Casey asked if there was something wrong with her car. The woman smiled and said no, that she just wanted to say “thank you.” Her medication co-pays were so high and she had to cut back what she had in her budget for groceries.
Before she was a part of the Need Line program, all the woman had left in her budget was enough to buy a large box of oats. She had oatmeal for breakfast and dinner, and she wouldn’t even eat lunch. When somebody told her about the senior program, she came, applied and was eligible. That day the woman wanted to voice her thanks.
“Look at my backseat, it’s like a buffet, I’m going to be able to have choices, and I’m going to have something different,” the woman said.
Casey recalled that the woman was so happy and wanted to express her gratitude.
“Well, it’s not me, this is a program for the community and the community all works hard together,” Casey said. “Stories like that are what makes this job worth it.”
If a senior wants to apply, Need Line needs proof of income and proof of residency in either Murray or Calloway County. Need Line officials then fill out the paperwork for them and then the seniors can come by once a month on the designated day and pick up their food if they are eligible.
If seniors are not eligible or if they are placed on a waiting list, Need Line will refer them to other organizations that can help.