Image by Franki Chamaki via Unsplash
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, is a federal anti-hunger program that provides financial assistance for food purchases to low-income Americans. The SNAP program is the largest anti-hunger program in the nation; SNAP funds can be used in most grocery stores, many farmers markets, and restaurants. The benefits of the SNAP program reach beyond preventing hunger: SNAP enrollees experience better overall health, fewer emergency room visits, and fewer long-term care hospital admissions than non-enrolled low-income Americans.
However, trends in SNAP enrollment have indicated that older Americans, specifically those over 50 years old, are underrepresented among those registered to receive benefits. Misconceptions about who is eligible for benefits, necessary technology access and know-how to complete applications, and attitudes toward reliance on government assistance are a few of the reasons why eligible members of this vulnerable demographic may be forgoing their SNAP benefits.
On this podcast, registered nurse Diana Mason, PhD, RN hosts Nicole Burda, the AARP director of government affairs, for a discussion about why eligible older adults may be hesitant to apply for SNAP benefits, how to encourage this demographic to enroll, and available resources older adults may utilize to ease the application process.
This podcast first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on September 7th, 2022.
On behalf of AARP, Nicole Burda advocates for solutions to address the pressing food needs of older adults across the nation. Nicole has a decade of experience working at non-profit organizations advocating on a wide range of public health issues. She has also worked at the local and state level in public health and as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute health policy fellow in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
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