Tauranga widow Yvonne Williams is one of the growing number of Bay elderly juggling limited finances between heating or food this winter. 

Mrs Williams struggles to keep warm. Struggles to eat. And struggles to live day-to-day on a fixed income. She spends up to 14 hours a day in bed to keep warm. 

Like many Bay elderly, she is forced to choose between a nightly meal or to run a heater. 

Limited finances and the soaring cost of living means the Tauranga widow can't remember the last time she ate a green vegetable; can't remember the last time she bought fruit other than bananas; can't remember when she could afford a sweet treat; can't remember the last time she could afford to make a toll call. 

And she certainly can't remember the last time she flicked on her oil-fin heater without worrying about the cost. 

Instead, she uses a gas-bottle heater - but because of the cost she can't run it for long. She goes to bed about 7pm and gets up about 9am, staying in bed as long as possible to keep warm. She doesn't use an electric blanket or hot water bottle. Instead, she rugs up. 

Every day brings new stresses; new bills. 

"I'm desperately, desperately cold," she told the Bay of Plenty Times. 

"And this is a cold house. It's been an extremely cold winter ... and I'm scared to ring my children for what it might cost." 

And new Government initiatives which come into effect from tomorrow won't help Mrs Williams. 

Ruth Dyson, Minister for Senior Citizens announced a range of Government initiatives to benefit older New Zealanders in her speech at the Age Concern annual meeting in Tauranga yesterday. 

From tomorrow, about 2000 superannuitants with a spouse or partner in long-term residential care will be eligible to be paid the single, living alone rate of New Zealand Superannuation. 

The next stage in the phase-out of income and asset testing for people in aged residential care also comes into effect tomorrow, as does the removal of the "sharing expenses rule". 

But that's cold comfort for Mrs Williams, whose husband died on December 22. The mother of five, grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of five, lost half his income from superannuation. 

Aged 77, she lives off $760 a month. Out of that she pays her weekly rent, groceries, power, phone, lawn-mowing bill, insurances, any medical needs and her gas bottle fill. 

She eats plain food, doesn't buy new things and her children don't live nearby so aren't able to help with simple tasks like changing lightbulbs and picking up leaves. 

Her only luxury in life is the a glass of red wine she has each evening. And says with the increased cost of fuel, she rarely uses her car. 

"It's a bit grim isn't it?," she concludes. 

But Mrs Williams doesn't want sympathy. She says there are others far worse off. 

Lorraine Wilson from Age Concern said some elderly residents on fixed incomes were in a situation this winter where they had to make the tough choice to "eat or heat". Others were simply choosing to stay in bed to save power. 

"Most people are not aware of the problem because older people by nature do not complain. Unfortunately, it's not always in the public eye but it's very much a reality. 

"They can't pay the power and they don't want it cut off so they don't heat their home. On GRI (Government Retirement Income) it doesn't leave much fat in the system for extras. 

"Their food bills are higher in the winter. Vegetables are not in plentiful supply so they're more expensive and proper nutritional intake is a problem. 

"And if homes aren't heated properly, respiratory conditions are exacerbated," she said. 

"All they want is acknowledgement they've contributed to society and now it's pay-back time." 

Subsidies on power accounts, free public transport and parking between certain non-peak hours and a designated centre where elderly and related services could meet, were some favoured changes. 

Diane Robinson, community ministries co-ordinator for the Salvation Army, said the situation was often grimmer for those who lived alone. Many suffered from winter blues, or "seasonal affective disorder" - a depression caused by lack of sunshine and the cold. 

"Isolation comes into that. This is where there are a lot of deaths at this time of year," she said. 

"Many are frightened to turn the heater on and lack of transport is also an issue, especially for those that might be unwell." 

She said the Salvation Army could advise on what benefits were available to older people. 

It could also help out with extra clothing, bedding and social support. It runs a free community breakfast every Monday and a free dinner every Tuesday at the Salvation Army in Fifth Ave. 

Glenn Spedding, secretary of Tauranga's Food Bank, said he urged elderly residents in need to come forward. Seniors needn't feel embarrassed or ashamed if they couldn't afford to eat properly. 

"I think it's a matter of pride ... I think it goes back to the old story where they've been brought up to look after themselves but things are so different nowadays. For one, people had vegetable gardens then. How many have them now?" 

Tauranga's Foodbank was free and Mr Spedding encouraged elderly to talk to their local church, the Salvation Army or Tauranga Budget Advice for a referral. 

Marjorie Spicer, manager at Tauranga Budget Advice, said her organisation would offer any assistance it could. She, too, had seen a pattern of elderly being too proud to ask for help. 

Those that did seek the organisation's assistance did it mostly because of debt management or extreme crisis. 

She encouraged anyone suffering to come forward and even consider applying to the Tauranga Healthy Homes project, which secured an $800,000 grant to help install insulation in 400 local homes.