Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health
Population Health Research Brief Series
Older Adults on SNAP Experience Gaps in Benefits
Colleen Heflin, Gabriella Alphonso, Leslie Hodges, Irma Arteaga, and Chinedum O. Ojinnaka
November 2022
Abstract
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest food and nutrition assistance program in the United States. Burdens associated with SNAP recertification often lead to administrative churn, when a household experiences a gap in SNAP benefit receipt. Older adults are at risk of experiencing benefit gaps, which may negatively impact their health and nutrition. This brief summarizes a recent study examining administrative churn among Missouri SNAP participants aged 60 years and older. The authors call for program changes that reduce the frequency and duration of churn among older adults.