[The Korea Daily-USC: Healing California Project]
On May 22 at 11:30 a.m., Cecilia Seo, 86, had lunch at an outdoor table at Dawooljung near Olympic Boulevard and Normandy Avenue in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Seo was thrilled to receive the “Korean-style boxed lunches” distributed by the LA Department of Aging through the LA Koreatown Senior and Community Center.
“I’ve been eating Western food for about two months, and I’ve been eating Korean since May. I like the Korean lunch. It’s got rice and kimchi, and the menu changes daily: bulgogi, pork, and chicken. I was not used to eating Western lunch, but now I eat everything.”
Seniors in Koreatown, one of the most densely populated areas in Los Angeles, are struggling to make ends meet. Many of them are first-generation immigrants who have retired and are struggling to cope with the soaring cost of living since the pandemic.
In particular, the city’s free food delivery program for low-income seniors is scheduled to end in August, which will increase the number of Korean-American seniors who are struggling to find even one meal a day.
For seniors, “lunch” is more than just a meal. It provides essential nutrients and is a valuable opportunity to socialize with friends and acquaintances.
Seo describes the free Korean lunches provided by the LA Department of Aging and the senior center five days a week as “happiness.”
“When you’re old, everything is a hassle…it’s not normal to cook a meal,” she said. “I don’t want to cook ramen, so I used to eat cup noodles that I could just pour hot water over. I used to go hungry before they gave me these lunches, but now I never go hungry, and I can take home leftovers from lunch.”
However, not many seniors like Seo are eligible for free meals. For many Korean-American seniors, who rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security (SS) as their only source of income, the cost of lunch is a significant burden.
“Since the pandemic, restaurant menu prices have increased by 20 to 30 percent, making it difficult for seniors to eat,” said Sungjoo Kwon, 85, who had a salad lunch (about $14) with six friends at Sizzler, located at Vermont Avenue and 4th Street in Koreatown, Los Angeles, at noon on May 7.
“I used to be able to eat lunch for $3 restaurants that provide senior menus, but after the pandemic, those options disappeared,” Kwon said. “Nowadays, when I go to a restaurant, I have to pay $20 to $25 for lunch, which is really burdensome.”
Over the past month, the Korea Daily interviewed Korean seniors at the LA Koreatown Senior and Community Center, fast food chains, and shopping mall food courts to ask about their living conditions.
The SSI received by about 10 Korean seniors averaged $800 to $900 per person, and pensions (SS) averaged $1,200 to $1,400. This is not a generous living allowance. They stated that they spend $300 to $350 of this on rent for senior apartments, and use the remaining money to cover all other expenses, including food.
As a result, securing a lunch meal has become the most sensitive issue among Korean seniors. Particularly since the pandemic, with menu prices rising by more than $5 (a 20-30% increase), eating lunch out has become a luxury. This is also why Korean seniors flock to food courts in Koreatown (where menus cost $12 to $17 including tax) and restaurants offering lunch specials (which cost $13 to $15 including tax and tip).
Currently, all the restaurants in LA Koreatown that had contracts with the LA Department of Aging to provide lunches to seniors for about $3 have disappeared. The reasons are a shortage of labor and increasing labor costs.
A representative from BBQ Garden near 7th Street and Vermont Avenue said, “The previous owner of this place had a contract with the city to provide lunches to seniors, but now we can’t afford to do that due to a lack of staff and high labor costs.”
However, at the request of the Koreatown Senior and Community Center (led by Chairwoman Youngshin Shin), the LA Department of Aging has been providing free lunch boxes to about 225 seniors aged 60 and over and low-income individuals five days a week since January 16.
The lunch boxes were upgraded from Western to Korean cuisine on May 1. Despite this, there are over 1,000 Korean applicants, and the demand cannot be met. Applicants line up from 7 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday to secure one of the free lunches, with a 4-to-1 first-come, first-served competition. The center has requested the Department of Aging to increase the number of lunch boxes to 500.
Chairwoman Shin emphasized, “If the city of LA provides enough lunches, seniors and low-income individuals can be free from worrying about meals. Providing a meal is a very practical help, so it would be good if the related budget is increased.”
The LA Department of Aging provides free lunches to about 6,000 seniors through the Senior Meals Program. However, due to budget cuts, the Emergency Rapid Response Senior Meals Program (RRSMP) is scheduled to end in August. According to the LA County Department of Aging and Disability (ADD), of the 37,588 seniors using the senior food program, 545 are Korean.
A report published last year by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (AASC) on food insecurity among Asian Americans in California found that 22.8% of Korean seniors aged 60 and over with an annual income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) expressed concerns about food security.
Additionally, Korean seniors who answered that they speak English “not well” or “not at all” had a higher rate of food insecurity (23.7%) compared to those who are proficient in English (18.3%).
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
