Resource Library

State agencies should adopt processes to allow for telephonic signatures for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications and recertifications for use by state agency staff and third-party partners, such as community-based organizations that are contracted to help clients apply or recertify for SNAP.

Work with the state agency to create a standard medical deduction (SMD) to simplify the collection of medical expense information from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants who are elderly (60+) or are non-elderly and living with disabilities. Doing so requires the state SNAP agency to request a demonstration waiver — from U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) — to develop an SMD in lieu of calculating actual medical expenses.

State agencies and their community nonprofit and local government partners can receive matching federal funds to create and implement Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach and application assistance plans. The federal funds cover up to 50 percent of the cost of approved activities. State SNAP agencies must submit plans for U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service’s (USDA-FNS) approval.

Stakeholders can work with the state SNAP agency to ensure that eligible older adults (age 60 and older) and people with disabilities can deduct from income all allowable unreimbursed medical expenses when calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Advocates should educate older adults and people with disabilities — and the families and organizations that support them — about allowable medical expense deductions that can result in a more adequate and accurate SNAP benefit that reflects the real value of out-of-pocket medical expenses.

States can request a SNAP waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) for households with seniors and/or people with disabilities that have no earned income. ESAP allows states to streamline the application and recertification process, helping more seniors (age 60 and older) and people with disabilities benefit from SNAP.

The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) demonstration pilots studied the utility of providing an electronic benefit card to low-income families to purchase food during the summer months. The evaluation found that Summer EBT reduced very low food insecurity among children by one-third. The pilot tested providing the resources through a SNAP EBT system in Connecticut, Delaware, Missouri, Oregon and Washington and a WIC EBT system in Michigan, Nevada, Texas and the Cherokee and Chickasaw Tribal Nations.

This series of state fact sheets provides state-specific data (compared to national data) on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation rates among eligible seniors, SNAP participation rates among households with seniors, and the percentage of households with seniors struggling with food insecurity.

FRAC’s communications toolkit for states includes a model news release for states to customize, sample social media, graphics, a video, and more.

This primer examines the importance of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in improving the health, nutrition, and well-being of millions of senior adults (age 60 and older) struggling against hunger, and it summarizes opportunities to expand this vital program to reach more seniors across the country.

This interactive map provides state-by-state data on SNAP participation rates among eligible seniors and for comparison, participation rates among all eligible individuals. FRAC’s map and accompanying tables show that just 42 percent of eligible seniors are using SNAP on average each month.  

Includes: The Strength of SNAP and SNAP Action Needed; The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP); Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP); Child Nutrition Reauthorization

The monthly benefits provided by SNAP enhance the foodpurchasing power of eligible low-income individuals and families. However, as described by many studies, including one by the Institute of Medicine, the greatest shortcoming of SNAP is that benefits for most households are not enough to get through the entire month without hunger or being forced to sacrifice nutrition quality. This limitation persists even in the face of overwhelming evidence on the gains from more adequate monthly SNAP benefits.

This paper briefly analyzes why SNAP benefits are inadequate, reviews the body of research showing positive effects from more adequate SNAP benefits, and concludes with some of the key policy solutions that can improve benefit adequacy.

On February 1, USDA published a Proposed Rule on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents RIN 0584-AE57. That rule, if adopted, would make changes to SNAP that Congress specifically declined to make in the recently enacted 2018 Farm Bill. The proposed changes would decrease state flexibility, harm local economies, and increase hunger. They should be rejected.

Don’t let the Trump Administration take food away from 750,000 people. Spread the word with these infographics.

This interactive map, produced in collaboration with the AARP Foundation, shows the share of all households with seniors (60+) in each state that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the state, metropolitan, small town, and rural levels.