"Now I Feel a Little Bit More Secure": The Impact of SNAP Enrollment on Older Adult SSI Recipients.

Ronli Levi,Dora Alvarez,Alena Morales,Katie Savin,Hilary Seligman

doi:10.3390/nu13124362

Abstract

In June 2019, California expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries for the first time. This research assesses the experience and impact of new SNAP enrollment among older adult SSI recipients, a population characterized by social and economic precarity. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 SNAP participants to explore their experiences with new SNAP benefits. Following initial coding, member-check groups allowed for participants to provide feedback on preliminary data analysis. Findings demonstrate that SNAP enrollment improved participants’ access to nutritious foods of their choice, contributed to overall budgets, eased mental distress resulting from poverty, and reduced labor spent accessing food. For some participants, SNAP benefit amounts were too low to make any noticeable impact. For many participants, SNAP receipt was associated with stigma, which some considered to be a social “cost” of poverty. Increased benefit may be derived from pairing SNAP with other public benefits. Together, the impacts of and barriers to effective use of SNAP benefits gleaned from this study deepen our understanding of individual- and neighborhood-level factors driving health inequities among low-income, disabled people experiencing food insecurity and SNAP recipients.

Highlights

Food insecurity refers to the limited or uncertain ability to reliably access safe and nutritious food
Five themes emerged from thematic analysis: the impact of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on participants’ lives; interactions between optimal SNAP usage and other social programs; labor required to access food resources; the role of food beyond nutrition; and stigma associated with SNAP receipt
When we suggested to participants that they might experience stigma or negative judgement from SNAP utilization, some participants skipped the question entirely

Summary

Introduction

Food insecurity refers to the limited or uncertain ability to reliably access safe and nutritious food. In 2019, more than 13.7 million US households were food insecure. 21% of food insecure households included an adult over the age of 65 years [1]. Food insecurity disproportionately affects marginalized older adults such as those who are disabled, lower income, lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender, and Black or Latino [2,3,4]. Food insecurity is linked with poor dietary intake, adverse mental and physical health, and increased health care utilization and expenditures [5,6,7]. Food insecurity is associated with increased fall risk and more severe depression, heart failure, asthma, osteoporosis, and cognitive impairment [8,9]. Food insecure older adults are more likely to experience cost-related medication non-adherence, further increasing their risk of poor health outcomes [10]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion