Leftovers

- If I were to say senior citizens and old people,

what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

Bad driving.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

Well, I don't know.

I guess I would think of, you know, like old folks' homes,

like residences and healthcare, things like that.

Social security, Medicare,

retirement plans.

My mother.

Grandparents, grandmas.

They get cheaper bus tickets.

- I mean, I have nothing against old people

at all, you know?

The only thing about old people is just, I mean,

let's be honest, they're old people.

- The problem here with the seniors is they're lost

and they're forgotten, because everybody's so busy

with their life that they forget

that the seniors have a big need.

- People have ostracized our seniors, and it's sad,

because that's our greatest source of wisdom.

- Generally people have an idea that, you know,

that because you get older, you don't have value.

- So if I told you that every day in America,

six million seniors go hungry,

what would you say to that?

You know, it's heartbreaking,

and I really didn't know that.

I'd say that's believable.

And it's a shame.

- I guess I'm not educated enough.

I thought they would have a lot more money

than some of the younger population.

- You know what, that's by choice, my man.

I have to say that's by choice.

- That would make me think about how we've moved away

from family units, taking care of elderly and moved

towards kind of assigning them their own separate lives.

- It's shameless in a country such as America,

because I think there's enough for everyone here.

- The problem of senior hunger in America is real.

It's a real problem, it's a terrible problem.

- They're the people who fought our wars.

They're the people who have built our towns,

educated our children, and protected our communities.

They should not be hungry.

They should not be the new face of hunger in America.

It's not just about poverty.

It's not just about lack of funds.

To a lot of people, it's about the lack

of ability to help themselves.

I live in Los Angeles.

- That's me, Seth Hancock.

I'm a photographer in Los Angeles.

And, as of right now,

I'm a full-fledged documentary filmmaker.

Well, not really.

You see, most people who work on documentaries

do so because it's a passion project,

or something that they've pursued for a lifetime.

But in my case, I was actually asked to make a documentary.

And not just any documentary, mind you.

A documentary featuring the most un-sexy subject

in all of America, senior citizens and hunger.

Initially, I was going to turn the project down,

because I've never gone hungry a day in my life.

I really couldn't bring anything to the table,

and rarely do I think about getting old.

But for all the reasons I wanted to say no to this project

are the exact reasons I wanted to say yes.

Because I needed to see how prevalent this is in America,

how this is gonna affect your life or my life down the road.

And for those reasons alone, I wanted to make this film.

This is my story.

Starting in Los Angeles and not knowing a damn thing

about senior citizens and hunger was a bit of a challenge,

so I did what anybody else would do,

and I contacted the Meals on Wheels program.

Unbeknownst to me, the woman who founded it,

Sister Alice Marie Quinn, happens to be kind of

a celebrity amongst celebrities here in Los Angeles.

And fortunately enough, she agreed to meet with me,

and to talk with me about this project.

She showed me around the facility,

and let me know what it took to feed thousands

upon thousands of people on a daily basis.

Needless to say, I was blown away.

But, by the end of our conversation,

I felt so much better about knowing where to begin.

And then she said, I think there's someone you should meet.

You need to go talk with Carla.

And that's exactly what I did.

My name is Carla Laemmle.

I'm 101.

I was a professional dancer.

Carl Laemmle was my uncle.

He founded Universal Studios.

We lived right on the lot.

It was wonderful, I loved it.

I was brought up and trained as a dancer,

but somehow, acting came kind of natural to me.

I liked it.

I liked acting.

The first movie I was in was Phantom of the Opera.

I believe I was 14 years old.

- Do you remember your line from Dracula?

I hope so.

Among the rugged peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass

are found crumbling castles of a bygone age.

It was about 30 years ago that I became very ill,

and they diagnosed it as TB.

And I was unable to go out and do anything on my own.

And I have to have meals delivered some way.

And I learned about this company that brought food

to the house, and that was how it all started

that I was able to live at home.

For me, it's the only way I wanna live.

- How important is that meal

that gets delivered to you everyday?

It's very, very important.

I couldn't do without it.

Absolutely.

It's my life.

"Dear Ms. Laemmle, hello.

"My name is Adam Barnette and I'm a big fan

"and admirer of yours.

"You're my favorite actress.

"I would love if you would please sign

"the two enclosed photos for me, and for my brother CJ.

"We'd appreciate it and always treasure it.

"Bye."

- One of the challenges about aging is, in fact,

making sure that you are properly nourished

when you do get older, so that we can remain healthy,

we can remain in our own homes.

I don't know anybody in my lifetime who's ever said,

"I can't wait to get old so I can be in a nursing home."

- We're concerned about the older person's safety,

and their level of care.

But sometimes we forget about their quality of life.

And by placing them in an assisted living facility,

or looking at some type of nursing care,

we're restricting their ability, their autonomy.

- Where do you think you would be physically,

if you didn't have a meal delivered to you everyday?

- Well, I certainly wouldn't be at home.

I would be in some institution

or a hospital of some kind,

where I wouldn't be living my own life.

It makes life something

that I can look forward to every day.

It gives meaning to my life.

I feel that life has still a lot to offer me.

- Meeting Carla was a great experience,

but I knew if I was gonna give any legitimacy

to this documentary, it meant that I had to get out of LA.

In doing my research, I learned about this guy

who runs a food bank and delivers meals during the day,

but at night is a headbanging, heavy metal drummer.

I mean, this could not be any more of a departure

from Sister Alice Marie Quinn

than if I had scripted it myself.

So I knew I had to get up to Marin County,

because this could be interesting.

Do you think it's important for people to be able to stay

in their homes, versus, say, going to like a nursing home?

I think so.

Some people, their entire existence is what went on inside

that household, as their families grew up and grew out.

Some of the people we serve have been in their houses

since they first got married.

They still have the markings of the doorframes

where their kids were six and seven years old,

and then 14 years old, and then you see some

of their grandkids listed there as well.

It's a measurement of success for their own life

that they get to stay there,

because this is what they worked for their entire life,

that's what they paid for their entire life.

And don't tell them that they don't belong in their own homes.

- There have been a number of studies that have looked

at older adults that have moved

into assisted living facilities,

senior nursing homes, and once the move is made

and they move out of their own home, and they are now

kind of separated from their community,

from their neighborhood, from their neighbors,

from the familiarity of their surroundings,

their health usually declines very rapidly, very quickly.

- If we look at the aging population, Marin County

right now, we're over 20% that are 60 years or older.

That number is gonna continue to rise,

and it's not going down anytime soon.

People are living longer.

Now people are living to be 95.

We have people that are 100 years old that we're serving.

Marin County, it's very affluent,

and it's known for its wealth.

And I was coming to an area where people were about