Food versus Medicine: Ensuring No Older Adult Has to Make this Impossible Choice

Session Summary: Many older adults face impossible choices between paying for food and household essentials like prescriptions. Older adults were greatly affected by COVID-19 crisis and by the discontinuation of the SNAP emergency allotments. Individuals lost an average of $82 a month in benefits, with steeper losses for some older SNAP participants.

The White House Conference strategy envisioned the need for a multi-sector approach to address food insecurity (FI) including partnerships between the health care sector and anti-hunger advocates, as well as a whole government approach.

This session brings that vision to life by featuring stakeholders working to address hunger among older adults across different sectors and by highlighting a range of nutrition programs, administered by different federal agencies that can be leveraged to address hunger among older adults.

Learn from:
a doctorally prepared nurse practitioner who cares for older adults about a new FRAC and AARP Foundation survey on how health care providers are addressing FI as well as her research on how fresh food prescription programs are affecting the physical and mental health of older adults
a lawyer and anti-hunger advocate with deep expertise on strategies to enroll older adults and help them get the correct SNAP benefits amount
an aging and nutrition expert about the benefits of congregate meals and home-delivered meals for older adults, especially those experiencing FI, and how to connect older adults to these programs

Leave with new ideas and resources just in time for commemorating May’s Older Americans Month.