Colleen M Heflin, Hyeryung Jo
Food insufficiency rose by 1.5 percentage points among older adult households overall and by 3.3 percentage points among older adults living alone, with no significant change among those not living alone. The difference in effects between those living alone and those not living alone was not statistically significant at conventional levels (p = 0.091). Sensitivity analyses restricting to self-identified SNAP recipients or varying the analytic window yielded consistent results.
OBJECTIVES: We examined how the nationwide termination of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments (EA) affected food insufficiency among older adults aged 60 and older, a group with high rates of nutrition-sensitive disease conditions and low SNAP uptake.
METHODS: Using Household Pulse Survey data on older adult households with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, we applied a stacked difference-in-differences design to compare food insufficiency within three-month windows before and after EA termination.
RESULTS: Food insufficiency rose by 1.5 percentage points among older adult households overall and by 3.3 percentage points among older adults living alone, with no significant change among those not living alone. The difference in effects between those living alone and those not living alone was not statistically significant at conventional levels (p = 0.091). Sensitivity analyses restricting to self-identified SNAP recipients or varying the analytic window yielded consistent results.
DISCUSSION: These findings indicate that the loss of higher SNAP benefits substantially increased food hardship among low-income older adults post-COVID, underscoring the need for adequate benefit levels.