Older adult man talking to a courier while receiving groceries delivery at home.

No One Should Age Hungry: Addressing Food Insecurity Among Older Adults in New York State

By

NYHealth

Funding Area

Healthy Food, Healthy Lives

Date

October 8, 2025

Introduction

Access to nutritious food is vital to maintain health in older age and to manage chronic conditions, which are more prevalent in aging populations. However, many older adults aged 60 and up struggle with access to healthy, affordable food. In New York State, older adults are the fastest-growing demographic group, and an estimated one in ten, or almost half of a million older adults, experience food insecurity.^[1]^[2] Food-insecure older adults face higher risks of poor health and increased need for health care services.^[3]^[4]

Poverty and disability often overlap with food insecurity challenges. With a 14.3% poverty rate for older adults, New York ranks second nationally.^[5] Additionally, many older adults are navigating retirement and aging on fixed or limited incomes that are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living.^[6]

Several programs are available to help older adults access the food they need, but gaps still remain. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps reduce food insecurity, improve nutrition, promote better health, and lower health care costs for older adults.^[7] However, challenges with awareness, enrollment, and funding can create SNAP usage barriers. Congregate and home-delivered meals provide food to older adults across New York State, but some programs have long waitlists and uneven availability. Food pantries offer staples to older adults, but often lack culturally relevant food options, and some older adults are concerned about the stigma associated with using these services. Despite the robust evidence demonstrating the success of these programs, the federal Budget Reconciliation Bill passed in July 2025 reduced funding for many of them.

Through qualitative and quantitative research, this report identifies the barriers that older adults face in accessing healthy, affordable food and provides recommendations to reduce hunger and support the health of older adults.

Suggested Citation:

Cobbs E, Ford MM, McCarthy J, Havusha A, Sandman D. No One Should Age Hungry: Addressing Food Insecurity Among Older Adults in New York State. 2025.

[1] Center for an Urban Future. Keeping Pace with an Aging New York State. January 2023. https://nycfuture.org/research/keeping-pace-with-an-aging-new-york-state. Accessed August 30, 2025.

[2] Feeding America. Food Insecurity among the Senior Population in New York. 2023. https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2023/senior-60-plus/new-york. Accessed June 30, 2025.

[3] Ziliak J, Gundersen C. The Health Consequences of Senior Hunger in the United States: Evidence from the 1999-2016 NHANES. Feeding America. August 2021. https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/2021%20-%20Health%20Consequences%20of%20Senior%20Hunger%201999-2016.pdf. Accessed August 30, 2025.

[4] Bhargava V, Lee, JS. Food insecurity and health care utilization among older adults in the United States. J Nutr Gerontol & Geriatr. 2016;35(3):177–192. doi:10.1080/21551197.2016.1200334.

[5] America’s Health Rankings. Poverty – Age 65+ in United States. https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/poverty_sr. Accessed August 30, 2025.

[6] U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real Personal Consumption Expenditures by State and Real Personal Income by State and Metropolitan Area. 2024. https://www.bea.gov/news/2024/real-personal-consumption-expenditures-state-and-real-personal-income-state-and. Accessed July 20, 2025.

[7] Carlson S, Llobrera J. SNAP Is Linked with Improved Health Outcomes and Lower Health Care Costs. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. December 2022. https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/snap-is-linked-with-improved-health-outcomes-and-lower-health-care-costs. Accessed August 30, 2025.

View the Report

This report provides policymakers, providers, advocates, and funders with needed data and personal experiences to respond to rising hunger among older adults. It synthesizes quantitative and qualitative data to demonstrate how food insecurity affects older adults across New York State. This report defines older adults as people aged 60 and older, consistent with eligibility criteria for many older adult food programs. Some datasets referenced in this report define older adults as people aged 65 and older; the report notes when this definition is used.

Quantitative data come from publicly available sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the New York State Office for the Aging, and the New York State Office of Temporary Disability Assistance. This report also summarizes new qualitative interview data, commissioned by the New York Health Foundation in 2025, that describes the experiences of 40 English- and Spanish-speaking food-insecure older adults. Methodology, data sources, and supplemental information, including county level data tables, are in the technical appendix.

View the Report

Key Findings

Section One examines the factors that drive food insecurity among older adults across New York State using quotes from interviews to illustrate the financial trade-offs, mobility challenges, and food access barriers older adults face. Findings include:

One in ten older New Yorkers is food insecure; in some counties, that rate is nearly double the State average. More than half of all older adults in New York State (56%) have difficulty accessing affordable, quality food.
Older adults reported diverting rent money, delaying or missing utility payments, and relying on credit cards to purchase food. Many view the cost of fruits, vegetables, and doctor-recommended diets as unaffordable.
Difficulty walking to the store, using stairs, carrying heavy groceries, and traveling in challenging weather conditions also put older adults at risk of food insecurity.

Section Two reviews how food programs, including SNAP, congregate meals, home-delivered meals, and food pantries, support older adults with food access. It also identifies barriers to program uptake in New York State, including stigma, limited benefits, and lack of awareness. Findings include:

Older adults who participate in SNAP rate the program very highly, but more than half of eligible older adults do not participate.
Programs like congregate meals and home-delivered meals can reduce social isolation and provide older adults with nutritious food options. However, stigma and past experiences with these programs prevent many eligible older adults from participating.
Under-enrollment in food programs is a product of several factors, including lack of awareness, technological and language barriers, stigma, immigration concerns, and limited service hours.

Economic and Social Drivers of Food Insecurity

Data and Findings

Economic and Social Drivers of Food Insecurity

Food Insufficiency in Households with and without Children

In 2024, approximately one in eight (13.2%) households with children reported food insufficiency, a slight decrease from the peak observed in 2020 (13.7%). Food insufficiency increased in 2024 for households without children, reaching its highest level in the past five years.

Since the pandemic began, households with children have experienced food insufficiency at a rate roughly 1.5 times higher than households without children.

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Food Insufficiency by Age

Since the onset of the pandemic, adults below the age of 65 reported higher rates of food insufficiency than adults ages 65 and older. In 2024, food insufficiency rates increased for adults in age groups 35–64 (12.6%) and 65+ (5.0%) compared to rates in 2020 (11.6% vs. 4.4%, respectively).

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Food Insufficiency by Race/Ethnicity

Food insufficiency rates for Black and Hispanic New Yorkers are roughly twice the rates for Asian and white New Yorkers.

Compared to 2020, food insufficiency rates in 2024 have decreased slightly for Black (18.9% vs. 17.9%), Hispanic (18.6% vs. 15.5%), and Asian (7.3% vs. 6.9%) New Yorkers. In contrast, rates for white New Yorkers have increased from 7.7% in 2020 to 8.4% in 2024.

Food Insufficiency by Income

In 2024, food insufficiency rates for all income groups increased compared to 2020. Nearly one in three (29.1%) of New Yorkers making less than $25,000 annually reported food insufficiency in 2024, an increase from 27.0% in 2020. The lowest-income households faced food insufficiency 13 times more than the highest earning households (29.1% vs. 2.2%, respectively).

Recommendations

Policymakers in New York State can improve food security for older adults by maximizing participation in federal and State programs. New York’s leaders should: · Advocate at the federal level to protect SNAP benefits and, ultimately, expand funding.

Consider a State supplement to increase the SNAP benefit amount to ensure older adults receive meaningful support to purchase food.
Maintain outreach for SNAP, including specific efforts to reach older adults where they are and address under-enrollment.
Make SNAP application and recertification measures easier for older adults, including continued participation in SNAP’s Elderly Simplified Application Project, which extends the certification period and waives the recertification interview for older adults.
Educate older adults about SNAP medical expense deductions, which could increase benefit amounts and increase older adult participation in the program.
Advocate for continued national data collection on food insecurity to shape policies designed to serve older adults.
Explore ways to cover the costs of grocery delivery for older adults.
Increase investment in home-delivered meal programs, including the Wellness In Nutrition (WIN) program, and ensure culturally-relevant, flavorful home-delivered meals are available to all who need them.
Reimagine congregate meals as opportunities for community connection, helping to destigmatize and generate broader interest among older adults of all incomes.

Overall Trends in Food Insufficiency