Helping Seniors with SNAP
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a powerful tool in the fight against hunger. In 2023, New Jersey created a state supplement to SNAP and increased the minimum benefit for all New Jerseyans to $95 a month. The federal minimum benefit is only $23.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, almost half of low-income older adults who are eligible for SNAP participate in the program in New Jersey. Even though special rules allow for wider SNAP eligibility for older adults, older Americans are less likely to participate in SNAP than almost any other demographic group.
As part of a pilot project to help more eligible seniors enroll in SNAP, Hunger Free New Jersey has created a set of outreach materials to educate seniors about the new $95 minimum benefit and provided training and a tool kit to frontline staff in senior day programs, senior living facilities and community-based organizations to help them to assist seniors in the SNAP application process.
This project was grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to learn more, click here.
