“Who Can Actually Live on the Amounts They Told us?”: Older adults’ Experiences with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

ABSTRACTNearly 10% of older adults reported food insecurity in 2021. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aims to reduce food insecurity by providing low-income households with benefits to purchase food. Twenty-one older adults discussed their experiences with SNAP during three focus groups. Thematic analysis indicated that benefits were appreciated but insufficient. Participants identified challenges to applying, using, and maintaining benefits in part due to age-related limitations. The results provide evidence that improved nutrition among older adults will require increasing benefit amounts, reducing paperwork, and easing restrictions on the use of benefits to purchase prepared foods.KEYWORDS: Older adultssupplemental nutrition assistance programfocus groups AcknowledgementsThis research was supported in part by a grant from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. The authors are grateful to the community partner agencies and focus group participants for welcoming us into their sites and to Isabelle Masse for her assistance.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings are available upon request.Notes1. The U.S. census identified older adults as those 65 and older; SNAP utilizes age 60.2. RI participates in a RMP which currently operates in 9 restaurants throughout the state.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation.