Food Insecurity

AARP recently released a fact sheet describing the prevalence of food insecurity among adults aged 50 and older in 2021. The fact sheet reveals that over 9 million Americans in this age group (approximately eight percent) experienced limited or uncertain access to nutritious food. Moreover, this fact sheet highlights the impact of food insecurity on the health of older adults, showing a higher prevalence of health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, asthma, and depression among food-insecure individuals. The report also explores important variations in food insecurity based on factors such as age, race, ethnicity, income, and educational attainment.

In 2017, Reading Hospital was awarded a $4.5 million grant from CMS to implement the Accountable Health Communities (AHC) model and assess whether addressing the health-related social needs of local Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries would impact their healthcare costs and inpatient and outpatient healthcare utilization. This case study looks at 747 patients with resolved food needs and finds that among this cohort, emergency department visits dropped 32%, hospital admissions decreased 32%, readmissions were reduced by 30%, and hospital costs went down 31%. Among the patients who were also on the Diabetes Registry, A1C rates decreased by an average of 2.2%

This series of three AARP Public Policy Institute and Mathematica Spotlight reports analyze SNAP participation among older adults and the policies that affect it.

NCOA and the Leading Age LTSS Center at UMass Boston released two issue briefs exploring the effects of pandemic-related food insecurity among older adults. The findings highlight the positive impact of SNAP in reducing food insecurity and call on the need for SNAP benefits provided by the American Rescue Plan to be permanent and consider increased food costs moving forward.

This study highlights the issues older adults face in maintaining their health and food security status, including chronic disease, social isolation, mobility, transportation, and limited income and affordability. This study engaged almost 150 older adults and 90 program managers and community agencies across 9 states. It examined 17 different program delivery models, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Commodity Food Supplemental Program (CSFP).

This report analyzes data on food insecurity among older adults ages 60 and over. It illustrates that while the food-insecurity rate for this population has recently declined, it is still significantly higher than a decade ago. This report also highlights sub-segments of this population who are at particularly high risk of experiencing food insecurity, including older adults with disabilities and older adults who are racial or ethnic minorities.

Meals on Wheels of America released a new report, funded by the AARP and Caesars Foundations, titled Hunger in Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for the Aging Network. This first-of-its-kind resource explores a variety of available food assistance programs that can be used in combination to more effectively address the needs of seniors in your community.