hunger

Increased need calls for higher SNAP benefits during COVID-19.

SNAP, formerly "food stamps," needs additional investments and flexibility to respond to the pandemic.

Recently passed legislation will allow food programs to ramp up home meal delivery.

One in four older black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries is food insecure.

A proposed rule would disproportionately impact SNAP households with seniors.

Recent federal proposals would add additional barriers to an already underused program, including efforts to require older adults to prove they’re engaging in work activities for a certain number of hours per week or risk losing SNAP after three months

Imagine living alone, being frail or living with a disability, and unable to leave your house without help. Now imagine feeling a hunger pang, opening up your fridge to find it empty, or wondering how you are going to get your next meal.

As the U.S. population ages and SNAP faces the prospect of changes that could affect the future of the program, it becomes all the more important to examine the dynamics around this large segment of SNAP users. AARP Public Policy Institute’s recently released fact sheet takes a closer look at SNAP households with older adults.

En español | I’ve said it before and I will say it again: I believe that food is our most important resource. Next to breathing, eating is one thing we do every day to survive.

En español | Food insecurity is a significant public health problem for older adults. In 2014, nearly 8 percent (3.47 million) of Americans age 65 and older were living in food insecure households, meaning they did not have balanced meals or enough to eat because they could not afford it. According to current estimates, the share of food-insecure older adults will increase 50 percent by 2025.