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Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
5 people on SNAP share what the food program gets right — and wrong
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, helps one in eight Americans put food on the table, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). SNAP is a lifeline for many individuals, families and people with disabilities. More than 62% of SNAP recipients are part of families with children. In 2022, 20% of children under 18 nationwide were in families receiving SNAP benefits. More than 38% of SNAP recipients are from working families. And more than 37% of families receiving SNAP include someone who is disabled or elderly, according to the CBPP. 'Without SNAP, families miss meals. Kids show up to school hungry. Parents skip groceries to keep the lights on. We're not talking about convenience. We're talking about survival,' Erica Williams, executive director of the nonprofit A Red Circle and co-author of the peer-reviewed food policy brief Food Pricing and Consumer Choice, tells Yahoo. SNAP is crucial because 'it's the most direct tool we have to reduce hunger,' she says. Most of the families Williams works with tell her that they don't want to be on SNAP forever but need help while they 'get stable,' she points out. SNAP can be used to buy a variety of foods, including dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables and snack foods. However, the program has limitations. 'You can't buy hot food or household goods like soap and diapers,' Williams says. 'You also can't buy prepared meals, which means parents working two jobs can't just grab something healthy on the go. It reinforces exhaustion.' Although SNAP helps many people get by when they don't earn enough to buy groceries, it often isn't enough. Rising food costs and eligibility restrictions make it challenging for many SNAP recipients to meet their needs. Yahoo talked to five people about what being on SNAP is really like. Danielle, a single mother in Missouri, works full-time in administrative support. She started receiving SNAP benefits when her son Marcus, now 20, was a baby, and his father stopped paying child support. Today, Danielle works 40 hours a week and still receives SNAP benefits. Marcus, who is neurodivergent, lives at home while he takes classes at a community college and works about 15 hours a week. Yet, despite having two working adults in the house, Danielle and Marcus don't earn enough to feed themselves adequately. Danielle's SNAP benefits help, but they are still struggling. Marcus stopped receiving benefits when he turned 18 because he was in school full-time and wasn't working enough hours to qualify for SNAP. Now, Danielle has to feed herself and her son with SNAP benefits meant for one adult. 'I understand the rules,' Danielle tells Yahoo. However, she emphasizes that she's unwilling to let her son go hungry or drop out of school and have a chance at a more financially stable life. 'That means I skip meals so he doesn't have to,' she says. Danielle usually buys foods like dry pasta, rice and canned vegetables to stretch her grocery budget. Eggs are a rare luxury, and she relies on a nonprofit food bank for fresh produce. Most of Danielle and Marcus's diet is 'Heavy. Salty,' Marcus says. 'You feel full, then you crash. I get foggy. Slow. Food's supposed to be medicine,' Marcus tells Yahoo. However, his limited diet often makes him feel worse. 'We're both trying. But we're still hungry,' Danielle says. Danielle wants people to know that 'this isn't about laziness. It's not about people gaming the system. It's about working families, caregiving parents, students trying to get out and still falling short.' Like Danielle, Jessica is also a single mother living in Missouri. She's been on and off SNAP since 2012. She typically buys items like flour, cereal, cheese and salmon with her SNAP benefits. Occasionally, she buys fresh fruit and vegetables and treats like ice cream or chicken nuggets for her son. However, due to the higher cost of fruit and vegetables, Jessica often finds that her benefits aren't enough to support a healthy diet. To fill the gap, Jessica relies on nonprofits like A Red Circle. 'The biggest challenge of being on SNAP is finding affordable quality food,' Jessica tells Yahoo. Even though Jessica would like to feed her son a healthy diet, she laments that her SNAP benefits are often just enough to cover 'pantry fillers.' Another challenge to staying healthy on SNAP is that "you can't buy vitamins, medicine or supplements,' she says. That makes it harder to stay healthy in the long run, she explains. Nevertheless, SNAP is a lifeline for Jessica. 'Without SNAP, feeding my family would be incredibly hard. With the cost of living so high and wages so low, it would be a serious struggle,' she explains. 'SNAP is not charity. It's a stabilizing force,' she says. Megan, who lives alone and has chronic Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, worked as a public servant in New York for 24 years. For her entire career, she helped others in need, including people struggling with mental illness and families whose loved ones were placed in child or adult protective services. Although Megan wanted to continue working, her health worsened, and she had to leave her job. Once Megan's savings ran out, she relied on local food pantries for food. When that wasn't enough, she applied for SNAP. Megan still visits food pantries. However, she uses her SNAP benefits to 'round out meals from the ingredients the food pantry provides,' she says. Since Megan usually gets canned and boxed goods from the food pantry, she usually uses her SNAP benefits to buy meat and produce. However, she notes that because of the high price of fresh fruit, produce 'feels like a luxury.' Moreover, although Megan tries to cook everything from scratch to save money, she keeps one or two pre-prepared meals on hand to eat when her illness flares and she's too fatigued to cook. 'I literally wouldn't be surviving without SNAP,' Megan tells Yahoo. 'Having SNAP has given me some peace of mind regarding access to food.' However, Megan is concerned because SNAP benefits don't automatically increase when grocery prices go up. Due to rising grocery prices, 'the SNAP benefits don't stretch as far in covering what's needed for a month,' she says. Megan is doing what she can to help with her recovery, but doesn't know when or if she will be able to return to work. 'Every fiber of me just wants to have my prior level of functioning back,' she says. 'I loved the work that I did. I loved my clients.' She adds: 'I'm hopeful that I will medically improve enough to be able to return to work and discontinue SNAP, but it will realistically be a few years, at best.' Until then, 'SNAP is a lifeline for me,' Megan says. Ryan Wilson, a disabled videographer from Colorado, was on SNAP for seven years. Like many people with disabilities, he had a hard time finding a job that paid him a living wage. 'The job market was and is tough,' Wilson tells Yahoo. When he wasn't earning enough to cover his basic expenses, SNAP helped him get by. He told Yahoo that without SNAP, 'I would have had a hard time paying for my essentials' like food and medical care. However, Wilson emphasizes that SNAP helped him survive but not thrive. When he was on SNAP, he couldn't use his benefits to buy necessities other than food. Additionally, he could only use his benefits at select locations like big box stores, even though smaller grocery stores were often closer. 'That is an inconvenience, especially for someone with a disability that impacts their mobility,' Wilson says. Now Wilson runs a video production company called Team Trust Productions. His income has increased, and he no longer needs SNAP to ensure he can access enough food. Wilson is grateful he received SNAP when he needed it, but he never expected to receive SNAP benefits forever. 'It's a temporary option. It does not have to be a permanent solution to financial uncertainty,' he says. Although Laura, a single woman from Pennsylvania, worked full-time, her income wasn't enough to support herself. For three years, Laura received SNAP benefits to help her get by. Eventually, she started earning a higher salary and no longer needed SNAP to buy food. However, in early 2025, Laura lost her job. Once her unemployment benefits ran out, she started receiving SNAP benefits again. Without SNAP, 'I would definitely not be eating three meals a day,' Laura tells Yahoo. She usually uses her SNAP benefits to buy frozen fruits and vegetables, chicken thighs and seasonal fruit and vegetables, which she finds more affordable than out-of-season produce. When she can afford it, Laura buys cheese and coffee. She also goes to her local food pantry to supplement her groceries. However, she emphasizes that food pantries are 'meant to be just that — supplemental, not a source of regular groceries.' Laura is grateful for the SNAP benefits she receives, but thinks some aspects of the program need to be changed. 'I wish we could buy paper products,' she says. 'Toilet paper is just as necessary as apples, and I wish I could just get everything at once.' She also wishes that restrictions on what SNAP recipients can buy, such as candy and hot foods, would be removed. Plus, Laura finds it difficult to figure out which foods she can buy with her benefits and which are excluded. 'No one should be told what food they're allowed to buy. Food is a human right,' Laura says. 'By making laws that just blindly eliminate whole sections of foods, that just makes it harder on people with specific diets. Or, it makes it impossible to give a little kid a birthday party,' she explains. Most importantly, Laura wishes she could rely on SNAP being around for those who need it. She's still looking for a full-time job that pays enough for her to support herself. Until then, however, "it's always in the back of my mind that my access to food could be taken away at any time. Depending on a program that's outside of your control, just to feed yourself, is terrifying,' she says.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
AARP: Why Majority of Retirees and Seniors Are Missing Out on SNAP Food Benefits
Many retirees and seniors across the United States are struggling to afford healthy meals, even as programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) stand ready to help. According to AARP, more than 16 million adults aged 50 and older who are eligible for SNAP are not enrolled, leaving critical benefits on the table. Learn More: Read Next: Rising food prices and the end of emergency SNAP allotments have made it even harder for older adults to keep nutritious food on the table. Food insecurity among Americans aged 50 and up jumped from 7.9% in 2021 to 9.8% in 2022, per AARP report. With so many missing out, understanding the reasons behind low enrollment and how to access these benefits is more urgent than ever. AARP research found that the majority of eligible older adults are not receiving SNAP benefits, despite being entitled to them. Several barriers keep retirees from enrolling, including a lack of awareness about eligibility, stigma around government assistance and the complexity of the application process. Erica R. Williams, MBA, Executive Director of A Red Circle and national expert on food equity, explained that the biggest barrier is a lack of information and the stigma attached to government programs. 'Many seniors simply don't know they're eligible, or are too proud or ashamed to ask for help,' Williams said. The SNAP application process can be daunting, especially for those with mobility issues or limited internet access. To make things easier, Williams suggested retirees use online screening tools like the National Council on Aging's BenefitsCheckUp, which can quickly determine eligibility. Local social services offices and community organizations can also help seniors understand the guidelines and assist with applications. Williams added that integrating SNAP eligibility checks into routine healthcare visits would ensure older adults do not miss out simply because they are unaware of their options. Be Aware: Retirees and seniors who do not enroll in SNAP miss out on several important benefits that can improve their lives. A report by the National Council on Aging explained three benefits retirees and seniors are miss out on: They lose access to an average of $158 per month in food assistance, which can make it much easier to afford healthier groceries and stretch a fixed income. They forgo the chance to use the excess medical expense deduction. This deduction allows seniors with more than $35 in monthly out-of-pocket medical costs to increase their SNAP benefit — but only 16% of eligible older adults currently use it. SNAP participation is linked to better health outcomes, including a 23% lower chance of entering a nursing home and a 4% lower chance of hospitalization, as well as reduced overall healthcare costs. Several misconceptions keep retirees from applying for SNAP. Many believe receiving Social Security or having a modest pension will disqualify them. However, most states have flexible rules that allow for higher income limits and exclude certain assets from consideration. Another myth is that accepting SNAP takes benefits away from others. However, the program is designed to help everyone who qualifies. The stigma around accepting government assistance also remains a powerful deterrent, even though SNAP is a program funded by taxpayers for exactly this purpose. Many seniors believe that having Social Security income or a small savings account will automatically disqualify them, but that is often not true. In fact, a report by Propel found that for 2025, seniors can qualify for SNAP if their annual income is below $15,060 for one person, or $20,440 for two people. Also, assets like a primary home and retirement savings are not counted against them. The misconception that SNAP is only for families with children or that accepting help means taking it away from others also discourages many from applying. Applying for SNAP does not have to be overwhelming. Williams suggested breaking the process into manageable steps and seeking assistance from SNAP outreach volunteers, community nonprofits or Area Agencies on Aging. Many states now allow seniors to apply online or over the phone, making the process more accessible. Gathering necessary documents such as identification, proof of income and medical expense records ahead of time can also speed things up. Once approved, maintaining enrollment is crucial. Many states now offer longer certification periods for seniors, reducing the need for frequent renewals. Local agencies and nonprofits can help remind seniors when it's time to renew and assist with paperwork. Having a support partner, like a family member or friend, can also make a big difference in keeping benefits active. More From GOBankingRates 5 Types of Vehicles Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early 12 SUVs With the Most Reliable Engines Sources AARP, '16 Million Eligible Adults Ages 50 and Older Are Not Enrolled in SNAP' AARP, 'Food Insecurity Increased to 1 in 10 Adults Ages 50 and Older in 2022' Erica R. Williams, A Red Circle National Council on Aging, '7 Facts About Older Adults and SNAP' Propel, 'SNAP for seniors: navigating benefits, income limits, and eligibility' This article originally appeared on AARP: Why Majority of Retirees and Seniors Are Missing Out on SNAP Food Benefits
