Excerpt from Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1994, Vol. 2: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session; (Pages 1-369), Nondepartmental Witnesses

Some of the nation's most persistent economic, housing, and health problems are concentrated in rural areas among older people. In 1990, older people living in nonmetropolitan areas had a poverty rate of compared with for those living in the suburbs and for those living in central cities.

Economic problems are particularly severe among older rural minorities and women living alone. When these factors are combined, poverty is nearly universal. In 1987, 80% of older black women living alone in rural areas had incomes below the poverty line. Among all rural blacks, the poverty rate in 1990 was Especially hard-pressed by rural poverty is the southern u.s., where the nine states with the highest rate of poverty for older people are all located.

In addition to problems associated with low incomes, older persons in rural areas have much less access to needed services. The lack of services in rural areas has driven too many older people to giving up their homes to relocate to areas and facilities where services are available.

The Association urges special attention to the plight of older migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Working and living conditions, which are generally bad for farmworkers of all ages, are abysmal for older farmworkers. Earnings for farmworkers over age 65 who are engaged exclusively in farmwork averaged only $3227 in 1987, and many receive no Social Security or other benefits. Not surprisingly, farmworkers often experience problems characteristic of the elderly before reaching their fiftieth birthday. Disability levels are high of farmworker families include a disabled member according to one federal study. Unfortunately, access to needed services has often been blocked by prejudice, language barriers, and a lack of outreach.

To address the problems associated with poverty among rural older people, our recommendations will focus on two areas under the jurisdiction of this Subcommittee: rural housing and food stamp outreach.

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