Mr. BRADEMAS. Mr. Gilman, we're pleased to have you and please go right ahead, sir. After that glowing introduction, we're looking forward with special enthusiasm to hearing from you. STATEMENT OF HENRY GILMAN, PRESIDENT, FLORIDA SENIOR CITIZENS LEAGUE OF FLORIDA Mr. GILMAN. Thank you, Mr. Congressman Claude Pepper, Mr. Brademas, and Mr. Hansen. I am going to divert from the preparation of something I had prepared and give a few little details of the situation that we have on Miami Beach. That's where I've been a resident for 14 years; one of the most densely populated areas for our senior citizens. There is a population on all of Miami Beach of approximately 80,000 or 82,000. Sixtyfive thousand are 65 years or older. And we find that close to 48 percent of those are people that are really living in condominiums and low-cost housing, and low-cost apartments that really are in dire need. We had an experience knowing some of the situations that some of our elderly live under in the Social Security B Complex. Mrs. Gilman and I were impounded as captain to go up and down all of Miami Beach from the lower dog track all the way to Broward County; to go from door to door and find out why it is our elderly people didn't sign up for the B Complex. And we had an opportunity to really check in that and we saw, oh, better than 38,000 senior citizens, retirees at that time, and that was in 1965. And we had an opportunity of really seeing poverty. We made notations because we testified in Washington before the Ted Kennedy hearing. And we found real poverty-when I say poverty, I mean people that really needed help and they certainly did need it. I lived on the beach for the last 14 years. I'm supposed to be retired and I got involved with the senior citizens, and I've been working harder than ever. Mrs. Gilman just celebrated her 80th birthday and my 83d and we're just working just as hard as ever to see what is necessary to see what we can do to help our elderly. And in checking some of the needs for a hot meal or any food for our elderly, we found that on the beach there was a dire need and there was neglect to recognize that fact because it was Miami Beach. It's supposed to be one of the affluent and high-rise apartments of the country. And we found in going around that there was many an old couple who really needed attention; who needed the proper food. They couldn't do for themselves. And we, therefore, saw to it and there was organized a little group known as SOS, and that was "Save our Seniors." We had no means of getting a meal to these people because, although we have some cafeteria facilities at two of our public elementary schools there, it wasn't financed by the city commission and so forth, so we made arrangements to see that these people got food. And day after day this SOS crew went out and they supplied them with Federal food and stamps, and checked them and saw what they needed, and gave them-and done the errands for them. And we had occasion on one before Passover, and as a Jewish holiday, a lot of the same type of food came to them, and we came to one woman, and we came there, and we knocked at the door and she opened up, and we saw that she was partially blind. And I said, "We brought you some food and I hope that it is something that you can use and appreciate." And she says, "Well, my neighbor will help me. I can't see I didn't have breakfast because I misplaced my dentures and I can't find them" because she couldn't see, so, you know, that's some of the situations and that's when we started to organize crews to go around to people like that to check with them; to call them on the phone and make sure if there's anything they need. And that is the type of work that is so badly needed and you don't realize it, and you don't know of it until you actually get involved. I'll read now something that I have prepared and it may be some use to that. The complex human body does need proper food for good health so as to repair constant deteriorating tissue and supply energy for physical activity. A balanced diet should consist of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The food chosen by most elderly is based on instinct, and influenced by many other factors, such as background, habit, taste, preferences, finance and economic situations. Many persons still consume inadequate and faulty diets which lead to poor health. There is a continuing need to provide information on what is a balanced meal. I wish to quote from an interview of Dr. Jean Mayer on a "Meet the Press, November 23d, 1969" item, a special consultant to the President of the United States on nutrition and poverty We don't have school lunch programs for elderly here on the beach, an excuse given by our city councils and school committees is that schools are old and not equipped. All of us who have traveled by plane know that airlines have no difficulty in feeding people 10 miles up in the air with no cafeterias or kitchens. If we can do that in the air, we surely can do it on the ground. What we need is a clear realization of our responsibility to the elderly and poverty stricken. Our President, Richard Nixon, has repeatedly said that the aim of his administration was to eliminate hunger, poverty and malnutrition within the next 3 years. This statement was made by Dr. Jean Mayer, the world's greatest nutritional expert, chosen by President Nixon to head the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Poverty. Poverty seems to be the cause of the greatest percentage of nutritional problems amongst our elderly and according to the Office of Economic Opportunity, there are about 30 million fellow citizens who have incomes below the poverty line and at least one-half just do not have money enough for a sound nutritional diet. The United States still has 350 counties which have refused to have any food program, and this is quoted from Dr. Jean Mayer's interview on this particular "Meet the Press": Many of these counties have a great deal of poverty which is running into considerable resistanceadmission of such conditions is demonstrated by dismissal of the Director of OEO in the State of New Hampshire, who has shown that a condition of malnutrition and hunger definitely existed in his county-so it is not just in the Southern States that there is resistance to that condition. And what is worse, we ignore our elderly in an era when there has never been a greater need for service to our needy and poverty stricken. Instead, America pours billions into armament for Asia and aid for so many foreign countries, but so little for our elderly who ask for so little and still deserve so much. In this most advanced industrial country in the world with the scientific capacity to land a man on the moon and bring back a few rocks which cost several billion dollars, should make it possible to take care of our poverty and malnutrition stricken millions of elderly who deserve at least one hot meal a day at a nominal cost subsidized by the State and Federal Government. School cafeterias could be used as dining facilities. Support the National Council of Senior Citizens of Washington, D.C., who have sought to improve the services to all elderly and other age groups. We must support the Honorable Claude Pepper's bill, H.R. 17763, introduced into Congress for the low-cost meal program and one hot meal a day. Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you very much, Mr. Gilman. Mr. Pepper, perhaps you'd like to lead off with any questions? Mr. PEPPER. Mr. Gilman, are you aware of the demonstration program that we previously had in this area? Mr. GILMAN. I haven't seen the bill yet. Mr. PEPPER. No; I mean the program for serving low-cost hot meals. Mr. GILMAN. Oh, yes, I know that. I'm very much aware because we tried to procure facilities and tried to get that for a lot of the elderly that do need it on the beach. Mr. PEPPER. How much did that program mean to the people in this area? Mr. GILMAN. Well, all I can say is that we, in our rough estimate, have canvassed from Fifth Street-lower Fifth Street and down to the track-and found that over 2,000 families actually needed at least one good hot meal and plenty of medication. Mr. PEPPER. And when that program was discontinued, what was the reaction on the part of the senior citizens of this area to lose it? Was there great sadness? Mr. GILMAN. That's right, especially here in Miami. When they discontinued the meals here for awhile, boy, we didn't know what these poor people could do. Fortunately, they found funds for it. Mr. PEPPER. Thank you very much. Mr. GILMAN. Thank you, sir, and it was a pleasure to testify before you. Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you, Mr. Gilman. I'm going to call on Mr. Hansen for any questions. Mr. HANSEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Gilman, for an excellent statement of the problem. Let me raise the same question I did earlier to Congressman Pepper and ask for your best judgment on the number of people that would need to be served from some kind of a center in order to make it a feasible operation? Mr. GILMAN. Well, we have discussed it on the beach as long as a new community center is under construction now. We requested of our city council that there should be a definite facility and kitchen large enough to accommodate at least 100 people at a time. And I'd say there are several hundred in the lower end of the beach and that one particular community center, and when they develop another community center in the north end of the beach, there will possibly be more and there will be several thousand people on the beach that I know will take advantage of a good meal a day. Mr. HANSEN. Would it take as many as 100 in order to make it— in order to justify the Mr. GILMAN. Oh, yes. Mr. HANSEN. Could you do it for less or more? Mr. GILMAN. I'd say more. More. Mr. HANSEN. What I'm trying to determine is the adaptability of this center concept to areas that have the lower percentage of elderly people than you do here if, based on the observation made by Mr. McLoud, the center might practically serve an area of about 2-miles radius. Then, from what you're saying, that area would have to have about 100 people in it who could take advantage of the services of the center in order to make the establishment of the center feasible; is that substantially correct? Mr. GILMAN. That's correct. You see, the beach is only a mile and a quarter wide and 14 miles long, and when you put a community center at the lower end of the beach you get it within a radius of 10 blocks there, and it's thickly settled and densely settled with a lot of, unfortunately, old people that come down are either retired and they'll all take advantage of that particular center. Mr. HANSEN. Thank you very much for a very fine statement. Mr. BRADEMAS. Mr. Gilman, I want to add my own thanks as well. I would like to observe that it seems to be quite striking, in a part of the United States and in a community that is regarded not only in this country but throughout the world as one of the more affluent cities in America, that you should have the kinds of problems that you've described in seeing to it that older citizens can be assured of nutritionally balanced nourishing meals and this ought to make all the more obvious the depth of this kind of a problem in some of our poorer sections of the United States. In other words, if you have this kind of trouble providing hot meals for older citizens in a rich community like Miami Mr. GILMAN. Beach. Mr. BRADEMAS (continuing). Miami Beach, how difficult must that problem be in some of the slum areas of our country and in some of the poor rural areas of our country. I only make this observation to dramatize what seems to me to be the obvious importance of a bill like this one. Thank you very much, Mr. Gilman. Mr. GILMAN. Thank you very much, sir. Mr. BRADEMAS. The Chair wants to observe for the benefit of our guests here today, who we're very pleased to have with us, that we propose the following kind of schedule throughout the rest of the day. Next, we are scheduled to have a panel discussion with some persons from the Metropolitan Senior Center in administrative positions and, then, a second panel composed of some senior citizens themselves. Then, probably after lunch, we shall hear from three other witnesses who 52-766-71-3 have positions of responsibility in the Miami area in the field that we're considering. Our next witnesses, then, are Mrs. Helen McGill, food service supervisor of the low-cost meal program of Senior Center of Dade County, Inc., and Mr. Irving Simson, comptroller of Senior Center of Dade County, Inc. And if both Mrs. McGill and Mr. Simson will come forward, we'll be pleased to hear from both of them at this time. The Chair would like to suggest that perhaps what they could do is each go ahead and give his statement, then, we'll put questions to both of you. Mrs. McGill, would you like to begin? STATEMENT OF MRS. HELEN MCGILL, FOOD SERVICE SUPERVISOR OF THE LOW-COST MEAL PROGRAM, SENIOR CENTERS OF DADE COUNTY, INC. Mrs. MCGILL. Yes, I will. Mr. BRADEMAS. Pleased to have you with us. Mrs. MCGILL. Senior Centers of Dade County have been serving the elderly a low-cost nutritious meal for 6 years and so we know how beneficial it is. We know we keep our elderly out of nursing homes and we know we keep them mobile and able to meet their friends in our centers in a social setting over a well-balanced meal once a day. As the supervisor of the low-cost meal project of senior centers, I plan the menus, keeping in mind that their noon meal may be their only meal of the day and must supply the minimum daily requirements for that day; 4 ounces of protein, three-quarters of a cup of starch and one-half cup of green or yellow vegetables, salad, and dessert, making sure that the needed vitamin contents are included. We prepare 500 meals daily. Last month we served 7,784 meals of which 250 were delivered to persons who are homebound. We satellite from our commissary kitchen to six locations all located in low-cost public housing for the elderly. The food, after being prepared in the commissary kitchen, is put into steam table pans, loaded into special hot food carriers. The carriers are loaded onto a truck specially equipped with a lift. At the satellite locations, these steam table pans are then transferred to steam tables in the centers. Each location has a serving kichen and a dining room. The satellite manager handles the setting up of the dining room, dishes up the salads, the desserts, and serves from the steam tables, also cleaning up after service. She is assisted by two or three member volunteers and these volunteers are our own aged people who are members of the center. The truck leaves the main kitchen at 10 a.m. and returns at 2 p.m. bringing the empty food carriers and the pans ready for the next day. Most centers use paper service and stainless steel tableware. The tables are made attractive. With paper cloths, or place mats, and flowers and greenery are used when available. We try hard not to make the food service or the services institutional in any way. We want to do everything possible to make their eating experience a pleasant one. Senior centers serves only the members who live either in low-cost public housing or in the nearby community. We feel that loneliness and |