For many seniors, leaving home to go to the grocery store can be challenging. And even though many have smartphones with internet access—which not every senior does—grocery-ordering apps and websites can feel impersonal and difficult to navigate.

“I would like to see this done nationwide,” she wrote to me. “It will help every senior who can not get out of their [apartment as] well.”

I think her question strikes me for a couple reasons: It speaks to how impersonal our food system has become. Direct connections with real people, even over the phone, can be important—especially when we’re talking about food choice, an important part of feeling independent, empowered, and dignified.

But also, her question brings up another sobering point: When we talk about food security, we cannot keep leaving our elders behind.

According to Feeding America, 5.5 million seniors 60 and older in the U.S. were food insecure in 2021—that’s 1 in every 14. The proportion is even higher for adults aged 50–59. And communities of color are disproportionately impacted: Black seniors are almost 4 times more likely and Latinx seniors are about 3 times more likely to experience food insecurity compared to white seniors.

And at the same time, older adults are less likely to enroll in SNAP benefits. Only about 48 percent of eligible seniors participate, compared to 86 percent of other eligible adults.

The reasons for the lower participation rate are largely similar to the challenges seniors face getting groceries in general: mobility, technology use, misunderstandings about the program.

In fact, until recently, many stores didn’t even accept SNAP benefits for online shoppers. This changed during the pandemic—now, stores like Walmart, Wegmans, Amazon, Publix, Kroger, and Target do accept SNAP benefits online. But when Congress decided to end the emergency SNAP allotments that boosted benefits during the pandemic, many seniors saw their benefits shrink dramatically. Some adults saw SNAP fall from US$281 to just US$23 per month, per the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

We need to help seniors be more food-secure—and the current Farm Bill season is the perfect time to be talking about it.

The Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a great place to start. It’s a program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help low-income seniors access local produce at farmers markets, roadside stands, or CSAs. As of 2020, 55 agencies across U.S. states, territories, and Native nations received SFMNP grants. As our friends at Wholesome Wave pointed out, we need to focus on expanding this program in an equitable way.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also runs the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which sends low-income seniors a monthly grocery box containing US$50 worth of commodity foods. Currently, according to Feeding America, the program is limited in its geographic scope and has a significant waiting list—so this is another space desperately in need of resources and investment.

Read the full article about food insecurity for seniors by Danielle Nierenberg at Food Tank.