SNAP

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

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

A proposed rule would disproportionately impact SNAP households with seniors.

A proposed rule could harm older Americans' health and financial security

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

We share our most-read blogs for 2018 in four categories: health, financial security, long-term services and supports, and livable communities

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.

“Without SNAP, I don’t know how I’d be able to afford to eat.”

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.

There is a renewed national debate over anti-poverty programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that millions of low-income Americans rely on. The House Agriculture Committee is currently leading an extensive review of SNAP. Recently, AARP President-Elect Eric Schneidewind testified before the Committee on SNAP’s importance to seniors and how it plays a key role in reducing health care costs. Click here to watch the video.