Home > Hunger & Poverty in America > Hunger Among Grandfamilies & Kinship Families
Photo of an older woman in a red shirt stirring a pot over the stove. It reads: "If we didn't get SNAP, we couldn't make through the month to eat."

Grandfamilies, also called kinship
families, are families in which
grandparents, other relatives, or
close family friends are raising children
because their parents cannot.

Grandfamilies and kinship families experience disproportionately higher rates of hunger.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Federal nutrition programs can help
stretch limited budgets to ensure children
are nourished and caregivers are healthy.

To learn about food insecurity among grandfamilies
and solutions, read Together at the Table:
Supporting the Nutrition, Health, and
Well-Being of Grandfamilies.

Food Insecurity in Grandparent Headed Households

Icons of four houses with one in orange that reads 1 in 4 grandparent-headed households experienced food insecurity between 2019 and 2020

Hundreds of thousands of grandfamilies are
struggling, but help is available.

Federal nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can be game-changers for grandfamilies, providing financial and nutritional support to ensure that caregivers and children are happy and healthy.

From SNAP to WIC, there are many federal nutrition programs available to ensure grandfamilies get the nutrition they need to thrive.

But too many grandfamilies are missing out on programs for which they are eligible. We need to spread the word.

Photo of a happy grandfamily. Two children in polo shirts smile as they are held by their grandfather and grandmother.

In Their Own Words

Grandfamilies around the country
know the benefits of SNAP and other
federal nutrition programs.

Photo of an older woman stirring a pot over the stove with her granddaughter. It reads: "Free lunches...was tremendous both financially and to make sure the children had a nutritious meal"
Photo of daughter in chef's cap making food in the kitchen with grandmother that reads: "We didn't have to choose between medication, rent, and food."

More needs to be done.

Icon reading 42 percent

Did You Know?

Only 42 percent of grandparent-headed households with grandchildren under age 18 and no parent present and with low incomes participated in SNAP in 2019.

Source: FRAC analysis of ACS data of households with one or more grandparents, age 40 or older, caring for children under age 18, with the children’s parents not present in the household.

Here’s how you can help.

Explore the resources below to learn how you
can make more grandfamilies aware of their options.

Looking to learn more about grandfamilies and kinship families?
Check out these FRAC partners:

    • Generations United
    • The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network – FRAC is the anti-hunger and nutrition expert for the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network. This network is the first-ever national technical assistance center for those who serve kinship and grandfamilies. The network, led by Generations United, brings together the nation’s leading experts on kinship and grandfamilies, including those who have the fundamental expertise of being a grandfamily member.