16 million older americans missing out on food benefits

Nearly 60 percent of low-income older adults who qualify for federal food assistance aren’t using it, according to a new analysis by AARP’s Public Policy Institute. Some 16 million — or 59

percent — of adults 50-plus who could get help paying for food through the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2022 did not claim it. “Millions of older adults are

missing out on benefits that could have a big impact on their livelihood,” says AARP’s Olivia Dean, senior policy advisor and co-author of the report published March 28. Roughly 1 in 10

older adults are food insecure, meaning they have limited access to adequate, nutritious food due to financial constraints. Research links food insecurity to poorer health outcomes,

including higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, asthma, gum disease, depression and other illnesses in adults 60 and older. SNAP, which is federally funded

but administered by states and sometimes counties, aims to reduce food insecurity and increase the purchase of nutritious foods by providing many low-income people and families with

financial assistance. But AARP’s report found that most adults ages 50 and older who were eligible for SNAP in 2022 did not participate in the program, and people ages 60 and older

participated at particularly low rates. While most older adults skipping their benefits would be eligible for just the minimum SNAP allowance of about $20 a month in 2022, one in five may be

missing out on benefits of over $300 a month, the report found. LEARN HOW AARP IS FIGHTING FOR YOU ​​ AARP is your fierce defender on the issues that matter to people 50-plus. Read more 

about how we’re fighting for you every day in Congress and across the country. Meanwhile, food insecurity among older adults has been rising. In 2023, 10.4 percent of Americans ages 50 and

older, or 12.6 million, were food insecure, according to AARP Public Policy Institute’s analysis of Current Population Survey data. The rate jumped from 9.8 percent in 2022 and 7.9 percent

in 2021 and represents the highest rate in nearly a decade. Removing barriers that may prevent those 16 million older adults from enrolling in SNAP — including burdensome application

processes, stigmas associated with food allowances, or the perception of low benefit amounts not being worth the trouble — is, therefore, critical, Dean says. “These findings point to the

need for targeted education and outreach about the program, as well as efforts at the federal and state levels to make it easier for older adults to access SNAP,” she says.